As provided by the Healthcare Allowance Act of June 16th 2005, people on a low income can apply for an allowance in order to help them pay their monthly premiums. The allowance can be asked for with ‘retroactive effect’ until the 1st of April of the following year. The amount of the allowance depends on the income of the person who applies for it (the lower the income, the higher the allowance). In 2013, the conditions for applying for such allowance are the following: -
To be 18 years or older ;
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To have a Dutch health insurance ;
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To be a Dutch citizen or to have a residence permit ;
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To have an income of maximum €30.939 per year for single individuals (compared to €35.059 in 2012) and €42.438 per year for couples (€51.691 in 2012)21.
Regarding “own risks” costs, people with high healthcare expenses and the chronically ill and disabled can apply for a “compensation” (people with high costs could obtain a supplementary reimbursement of €85 in 2012) or a “subsidy” (chronically ill and disabled)22. The allowance for the monthly premiums and the compensation/subsidy for the “own risks” can be cumulated.
Finally, it is important to note that the new government agreement proposes that from 2014 onwards, the costs of the monthly premiums will be income-related. Therefore, people on a low income will pay less for their basic health insurance than people who earn more money. For instance, according to the website http://mijnzorgverzekering2013.nl, people with a gross salary of less than €1.600 / month will have to pay €21 / month on average for their monthly premiums (the minimum) while people with a gross salary of more than €6.000 / month will pay €471 / month on average (the maximum)23.
21
See for more details http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/zorgtoeslag and http://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/bldcontentnl/belastingdienst/prive/toeslagen/informatie_over_toesl agen/zorgtoeslag/ 22 See for more details http://www.hetcak.nl/portalserver/portals/cak-portal/pages/k1-3-tegemoetkomingen-encompensaties.html 23 http://mijnzorgverzekering2013.nl/514/inkomensafhankelijke-zorgpremie-hoeveel-betaal-ik-in-2014/
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