Care Allowance Act

A new health care insurance system came into force in the Netherlands on 1 January 2006. The former system of private and state-funded insurance has been replaced by a system under which everyone has the same basic package of private health insurance and pays around the same premium for this package. The care allowance is a financial allowance paid by the government to help lower income households to pay for the insurance.

To be eligible for the care allowance, the claimant must be at least 18 years of age, have a basic health insurance policy with an insurance company and have an income below a specified threshold. People under the age of 18 are insured free of charge, and therefore do not need an allowance. The level of the allowance is also related to the income of the claimant’s partner in terms of the allowance. This partner is the partner in marriage, under a civil partnership, or if not applicable may also be a brother, sister, or friend who shares the household. 

The combined income of the claimant and his/her partner in terms of the allowance  must be below 40.1 thousand euro. If it is below 17.5 thousand euro the claimant receives the maximum 1,155 euro per year. Without a partner the maximum income is 25.1 thousand euro. If the income is below 17.5 thousand euro, the claimant receives the maximum allowance of 403 euro per year.