While we believe that the Dutch health care system is pretty good (inflexibility aside) the financial side is complicated, at least for us. We give a short summary of how it is organised for the general practitioner (GP) below in relationship to the billing.

The prices for consultation either by phone or in person are determined by the government, specifically the NZA (Nederlandse Zorg Autoriteit, or the authority for the Dutch health care). These are determined yearly, are non negotiable and apply to all medical practioners.

All Dutch citizens are obliged by law to have a medical insurance. All the consultations done in the GP office are billed directly to the insurance company. A quarterly amount is also billed per person regardless of how often they need a doctor.

Some expats do not have a Dutch insurance and patients will get an invoice at their house address for rendered services. After paying they are then able to get this amount reimbursed from their own insurance. There is no quarterly billing.

For those holiday people that need medical services: they have to pay after treatment. This amount can be reimbursed from their own insurance.

We hope that this gives a good enough explanation. If there are questions in this regard please feel free to contact us.