Dutch Health Care system
The healthcare system in the Netherlands is different from the systems in many other countries. Please read the information carefully. Here you can also find information on insurances.
General information
Medication:
For certain painkillers and medication for the common cold, you do not need a prescription. Such medication can be bought at the supermarket or drugstore. Almost all other medication can only be found at the pharmacy (Apotheek in Dutch), and you will need a prescription from your GP or specialist.
Emergencies:
In the case of severe accidents/disease you can reach the emergency services at 112. For less severe cases, call your own GP, or outside office hours, call the service: 015 2511930.
In the case of severe dental problems, you can find the attending dentist through this link: http://www.tandartsendienstdelft.nl/dienstarts.aspx
Referrals:
A referral from your GP is mandatory in order to be either diagnosed or treated in the hospital. Without a referral, it is likely that the hospital bill will not be covered by your insurance.
No referrals are necessary for visits to the dentist, physical therapist, midwive or student psychologist. In case of severe accidents (such as car accidents) or severe medical conditions (ie. presumption of a heart attack) you can go directly to the Emergency Room at the hospital, without a referral.
Dentist:
If you need a dentist you can get in contact with:
Dentalways
Beukenlaan 4-N
2612VC Delft
015-2154080
Centrum voor Mondzorg Tanthof
Victoriapad 1
2622 JC Delft
Tel: 015 2617103
For dental emergencies from Friday 18.00 p.m. - Monday 08.00 a.m. you can contact the dentist on duty. Click here to find his name and phone number.
Payment of bills
- A. General practitioners:Some doctors will expect you to pay immediately after your consultation; others will send you a bill. You can get a refund by sending the bill to your insurance company using a special claim form available from your insurance company. N.B. Higher fees will be charged for consultations and house calls during evenings and weekends.
- B. Pharmacy:
You have to pay for the medication yourself. It'll be refunded by the insurance company after you send them the bill and the special claim form.
- C. Medical specialist, hospital, lab tests and x-rays:
They will send you a bill. You'll have to send that bill to your insurance company, using a special claim form. Not all costs are covered by the insurance company. Check the policy wording of your insurance before you visit a medical specilalist. If you ar not sure get in contact with your insurance company.
At the end of your stay in the Netherlands you should contact your insurance company when you still have a claim that needs to be settled before you leave the country. You will only have limited time to claim the money via your bank account. This applies to the bills you have received from your GP or the pharmacy.
Health Insurance and Costs
It is very important to make sure you have an adequate health insurance policy as medical treatment and medication are expensive. This insurance policy is personal. If you are not properly insured, you will have to pay the expenses yourself. However, health care does not cover all medical expenses. In general it does not cover a routine medical check up and dental care.
Visits to the GP are always covered by your insurance. Patients with a foreign insurance company will need to pay the consultation costs up-front, but these will be reimbursed.
In general, costs related to examinations and admissions to hospital are also covered completely. However, there are also types of insurance that only cover examination and treatment of ‘new’ complaints. For example, if you already had diabetes before you registered with this insurance, all diabetic treatments will not be covered. It may also be the case that complaints that do not require emergency medical care are not covered, as you could have gone back to your home country for treatment. An example of this is cosmetic surgery.
Always read your insurance policy carefully - that way you will avoid nasty financial surprises.
Often, dental care and physical therapy are also not covered by your standard insurance package. Whether this is covered or not can also be found in your insurance policy.
It is mandatory for PhD students to have Dutch insurance. Dutch insurance companies work with an excess (‘eigen risico’ in Dutch). This means that the first costs will have to be paid yourself, to an annual cumulative maximum of at least 385 Euro in 2024. Consultations with your GP are not part of the excess, and are fully covered by the insurance.
Some examples to illustrate the excess:
In all of 2013, person A only goes to his GP once, to see what is wrong with his leg. The GP concludes there is no problem, so no further steps are taken. The insurer will not send a bill, as GP consults are completely covered.
In 2013, person B only does one STD test at the GP, the costs of which are 150 Euros. STD tests are not covered by insurance. His insurer will send him a bill for 150 Euros.
In 2013, Person C is admitted to hospital, gets a number of examinations and gets surgery, the total costs of which are 11.000 Euros. His insurer sends him a bill for 385 Euros.
More info can be found at:
EU information on European Health Insurance Card
Information OOM (Sucsez)