Everyone living in the Netherlands is required to have basic health insurance. You are then insured for basic healthcare, e.g. GP, hospitals, psychiatrists and pharmacies. Every month you pay a fixed amount to be able to use basic healthcare. This is called a premium. Every year you can choose a different health insurance before January.

In addition to basic insurance, you can also purchase supplementary insurance. This costs more money per month. A supplementary insurance pays extra costs that the basic insurance does not cover. For example, dental insurance, insurance for when you need glasses or lenses or physical therapy. Supplementary insurance is not mandatory. Every year you can opt for a supplementary health insurance before January.

In addition to the basic insurance, you also pay your own money for the healthcare expenses you incur. This is called the excess. You pay the first €385 yourself. Until 2025 this amount remains the same. After that, your health insurance will pay the costs. For the basic insurance, every adult has an obligatory excess of €385. For some types of healthcare the excess does not apply, such as for a GP or midwife. You do not have to pay an amount yourself for these.

Suppose you go to the GP and the GP prescribes medication for you. You do not have to pay for the consultation with or treatment by your GP; that is paid for by your premium. However, you do pay all or part of the medication yourself, because it is part of your excess. Suppose you get medication for the whole year that cost a total of €500. Then you pay €385 yourself. The health insurance will pay the rest.

Most health insurance companies give you the option of paying the mandatory excess in advance each month. You then pay an additional amount for your excess each month in addition to your premium. If you opt for this, but did not use up all the money, the health insurance will pay you back.

You can also opt for a higher excess. Then you often pay less premium, but have to pay for more healthcare yourself. This is useful if you need little healthcare and have plenty of savings to pay for healthcare yourself.