Diederik Schrijvershof and Annabel Kingma have successfully represented the De Bevlogen Huisartsen (DBH) foundation and 129 individual GPs in appeal proceedings before the Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) regarding the 2023 Performance and Rate Decision on GP care and multidisciplinary care (the Rate Decision). Maverick Advocaten worked together with Piet Sippens of Groene Wegen on this matter.
DBH and individual GPs had previously objected to the Rate Decision on 29 July 2022, but the Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZa) declared the objection unfounded on 29 March 2023.
The Tribunal upheld DBH’s appeal. According to the Tribunal, the NZa had wrongly based the 2023 rates for GPs on a cost study carried out by the NZa for the year 2015. When setting the rates for 2023 and 2024, the NZa should have investigated whether the rates still covered the costs, in light of developments in the sector and signals given by GPs about higher costs. These developments include demographic changes (ageing, multi-morbidity), care for mental health patients, shifts from secondary and tertiary care to primary care, increased administrative burdens, and increases in personnel and accommodation costs.
The NZa will have to conduct a new cost study or reassess the rates for 2023 and 2024. This in any event applies to the accommodation and personnel cost items. The Tribunal even stated that the NZa must financially compensate the GPs for the loss incurred by them.
More information on this case can be found at NOS, NOS journaal, NRC (2x), FD, NPO Radio 1, Trouw, and NU.nl.
Maverick Advocaten assists healthcare providers on a daily basis to achieve cost-covering healthcare rates or to challenge inadequate turnover and other caps. It is litigating, for instance, on behalf of providers of forensic mental healthcare against the NZa 2023 and 2024 Mental Healthcare and Forensic Care Rates Decision. Previously, Maverick Advocaten achieved successes in preliminary relief proceedings for healthcare providers in the procurement of, among other things, GP care, primary diagnostics, acute mental healthcare (here and here), forensic care, youth care, SGLVG (Serious Behavioural Problems and Mild Intellectual Disability) care, long-term care (also on appeal and here and here) and care under the Social Support Act (see also here). Maverick Advocaten also challenges excessive market power of health insurers: see also here.
More information on the healthcare procurement duty/duty of care and its enforcement is provided in this blog, this blog and this interview in Zorgvisie. More information on the rights of healthcare providers in healthcare sales and the possibilities for their industry associations to support them in this regard can be found at www.zorgcontractering.com.
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