Healthcare in a wellfare state?

Even though The Netherlands is not "The" wellfare state like Sweden or Finland, it is "A" wellfare state that is often used as a glowing example of how things should be run in the healthcare system.

But foreigners, especially if you happen to want to settle for a while and perhaps even work, beware! The Dutch healthcare system was relatively recently privatized, which was supposed to create competition on the market and eventually provide the people with better quality-for-your-pay medical care. Everyone chose a health insurance provider and all was good. The problem for foreigners - like me - is that from the moment you are registered to live in the Netherlands (which is necessary if you want a legal job and get a social-security/ID number aka burgernummer formerly known as sofi-number. Registering to live is relatively easy if you're a European citizen, all you need is your passport and a legal place to live = rent contract or some such) you are OBLIGED to have a DUTCH health insurance. This, of course, no one tells you.

All information is in Dutch, which is how it should be seeing as this is the official language of the country. But there are tens of thousands of foreigners here and tens, if not hundreds arriving every day who do not have the slightest clue about the language. Of course they will learn as soon as they can, but the moment they get themselves registered I very much doubt that the majority can understand Dutch. Therefore it would only make logical sense to have at least the information that health insurance is reqired in the major languages of the World available at the immigration office... But I digress.

When I registered to live in the Netherlands I was asked if I have a health insurance. I said yes, I have an Estonian health insurance which is valid in all of the EU and showed him the card and everything. The official guy said "Good. Sign here..." During the whole process of making sure everything was in order with my stay in the Netherlands no one mentioned to me that I would need a Dutch health insurance. And I asked: "I have done this this and this. Is there anything else I should pay attention to?".

Fast forward half a year during which, being from EE I couldn't find a job that didn't involve scrubbing floors. I'll write about that some other time... Anyway, as soon as the laws changed allowing people from the New EU states (except Bulgaria and Romania) to work according to the same regulations as all other EU citizens, I was literally whooshed off my feet and within the week found myself working at an office near the Schiphol airport. And this is when I found out that I was legall obliged to have a Dutch health insurance. So I applied for one.

A few days later I got a letter saying that they want to fine me for the time I wasn't insured. The amount was my monthly insurance cost times 6. And my monthly insurance cost was just over 100 euros. Very expensive, if you ask me but this is Western Europe and everything is expensive here. This is just about the least you can pay per month. So 600 euros just for not being informed that I needed a Dutch insurance. At that time my Estonian insurance was still 100% valid and I thought I was completely insured for any emergency. I hadn't been ill and hadn't needed any medical care whatsoever and they just take my money. Splendid. I sent a complaint stating my ignorance and didn't hear back from them for months.

Fast forward another 4 months. I received a letter from some agency or another saying that they had received my complaint from the health insurance company but had sent it back to them because they don't deal with complaints of that nature. oooookaaayy... Fast forward 2 more months. I get a letter from my health insurance company (in Dutch, of course. But luckily it's now been a year that I've lived here so I understand the letter) saying that ignorance does not save me. Yeah, whatever. By now I'm so fed up with the whole thing that I just want to drag it out some more for them so that in the end they've spent more than my measly 600 euros on administration and work-costs. I'm feeling vindictive. So I send a letter saying that I don't want to pay it in one lump sum but in parts, please.

A few weeks after that (that is, this past weekend) I fill out my tax report. Because like all people I want my money back. Turns out that because I wasn't employed and thereforemy employer didn't pay their part of insurances for the first 6 months I now get 500 euros less back from my paid taxes. Ok, so it's money I had already paid for taxes and never actually *had* but still... Welfare state indeed.

So I can live here but can't work and while I can't work I have to pay a hundred euros per month for health insurance, which I don't know I have to pay. On top of that my non-existent employer, because, remember, I can't work, does not pay their part of the insurance. And the state and the health insurance company combined take my 1100 euros. Which, excuse me, is almost my monthly wage, net.

Morale of the year: never believe the Dutch bureaucracy-officials, they know nothing. Also, don't trust all of the information you fins ont eh official expat pages on the Internet. I checked and there's absolutely nothing on health insurance anywhere. Talk to your (potential) employer about what you need organised. And trying to out-protest the system only delays the inevitable but at least it should give you some time to amass the money...