INSURANCE COVER FOR PRIMARY MENTAL HEALTHCARE
A course of treatment by me falls under the primary mental healthcare system, which means that the cost is covered by the mandatory basic health insurance under the Dutch Healthcare Insurance Act (Zorgverzekeringswet). Please note that the mandatory basic health insurance is subject to a minimum excess (i.e. insured persons are required to pay a personal contribution) of €385 per calendar year. In other words, whether you will be required to make a personal contribution towards the cost of treatment depends on how much of your excess you have already used up in the year in which treatment starts, i.e. on the other healthcare costs that you incur in the same year.
All Dutch healthcare insurance companies stipulate that there must be a written letter of referral or a digital reference through Care Domain from a family doctor or a company medical officer in order for the client to qualify for insurance cover.
The health insurance companies have classified courses of primary mental healthcare treatment for which you may be referred into.
The family doctor or company medical officer making the referral is responsible for estimating the intensity of the treatment you require based on classification by DSM*. Once you have been referred, the officially registered psychologist treating you makes his or her own appraisal of the type of treatment you require, based on the diagnosis made after the intake meeting.
For further information on primary mental healthcare, click here (website in Dutch only)
https://zorgprestatiemodel.nza.nl
* DSM: a system of classifying mental disorders based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders