Diederik Schrijvershof explains in Zorgvisie Magazine what healthcare insurers must do in order to comply with the covenant to establish an independent healthcare contracting dispute resolution authority in 2018. In this regard, Diederik calls on all healthcare insurers to expressly state in their 2019 procurement policies that every request made by or on behalf of a healthcare provider to involve the independent dispute authority will also be honoured during the pre-contractual phase.
Currently, this wording cannot be found in the 2019 healthcare procurement policy. This is unfavourable for health care providers as in each individual case they have to obtain permission in order to take that step. Experience has shown that healthcare insurers do not (or do not immediately) agree to submit their dispute to the independent dispute resolution authority, even though that authority was set up under the auspices of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, is referred to by the NZa (Dutch Healthcare Authority), and Andre Rouvoet, the chairman of ZN (the Association of Dutch Health Insurers), previously stated: “Today, ZN signed a covenant with 25 professional and trade organisations in the healthcare sector to set up an “Independent Healthcare Contracting Dispute Resolution Authority”. Andre Rouvoet (chairman of the ZN) emphasises that the creation of that authority a good development is. “That authority can, as an accessible arbiter, help to solve problems between healthcare providers and healthcare insurers.”
The fact that, in ZN’s opinion, the independent dispute resolution authority is already referred to in signed contracts obviously does not suffice, since that only relates to an ongoing contract. Publicly stating in the 2019 procurement policy that in order to arrive at a (new) 2019 contract the healthcare insurer will honour every request to engage the dispute resolution authority even during the pre-contractual phase is essentially different from referring to an ongoing contract. Diederik believes that all healthcare insurers must live up to their social responsibility not only in order to comply with the covenant, but also on the grounds of the ZN Code of Conduct for Healthcare Insurers. They must do so by explicitly stating in the 2019 healthcare procurement policy that every request made by or on behalf of a healthcare provider to engage the independent dispute resolution authority will be honoured also during the pre-contractual phase.
Click here for the contribution to Zorgvisie Magazine. Click here or consult www.zorgcontractering.com for 12 practical tips for successful (joint) healthcare sales in 2018.
