Diederik Schrijvershof successfully assisted the branch association Dutch Mental Healthcare Association (“de Nederlandse ggz”, previously named GGZ Nederland) and 19 members (mental healthcare providers) from all over the Netherlands in preliminary relief proceedings against five healthcare administration offices due to insufficient long-term care rates in 2021.
De Nederlandse ggz and its members challenged the -6% discount on the long-term rates of the Dutch Healthcare Authority, which the healthcare administration offices unilaterally wanted to impose for 2021. According to (the members of) de Nederlandse ggz, the remaining 94% of the NZa rate is foreseeably insufficient to provide high-quality healthcare. The court in preliminary relief proceedings ruled in favor of (the members of the) de Nederlandse ggz. The preliminary relief judge concluded that healthcare administration offices have significant market power and are bound by the procurement law principles of equality, transparency and proportionality in procurement procedures. The court also concluded that healthcare administration offices fail to recognize that healthcare providers have no freedom to refrain from entering into contracts with the healthcare administration offices. The foregoing means that care administration offices must offer realistic rates to healthcare providers. The rates that the healthcare administration offices wanted to unilaterally impose on the healthcare providers could not stand the judicial test. More specifically, the healthcare administration offices did not substantiate:
- That care could be organized more efficiently in all cases, and
- That this can be achieved in all cases by using a scythe of -6% at the NZa rates.
The court in preliminary relief proceedings prohibited the five healthcare administration offices from continuing the procurement procedures, as long as it was not demonstrated by means of proper investigation that the rates applied met the requirements that could be set for them in all cases. As long as this is not the case, at least the (basic) rate (percentage) applied in 2020 must be adhered to.
The preliminary relief proceedings received the necessary media attention. Examples can be found here.
Earlier, Maverick Advocaten was successful in (preliminary relief) proceedings for healthcare providers in the field of youth care, forensic care and acute mental health care. Maverick Advocaten has also been successful against the abuse of purchasing power of a healthcare insurer.
