Ten percent fewer people without medical insurance in 2010
- 136 thousand people have no medical insurance
- 20-39 year-olds most often uninsured
- Nearly four-fifths of uninsured have foreign background
- 244 thousand defaulters
On 1 May 2010 136 thousand people living in the Netherlands were not insured for medical costs. This is 10 percent fewer than twelve months previously. According to Statistics Netherlands’ figures, in 2007-2009 the number of people without medical insurance was just over 150 thousand.
As a result of the decrease, the share of uninsured people in the population of the Netherlands has fallen from 0.9 to 0.8 percent. Nearly 60 percent of all people without medical insurance are aged between 20 and 40 years. This is the age group with most uninsured persons, but the number of uninsured in this group did fall by more than average, for both men and women. Just as in previous years, more men than women did not have medical insurance. (1.0 percent versus 0.7 percent).
The share of uninsured people in the population with a foreign background fell from 3.5 to 3.2 percent; among the native Dutch population it fell from 0.3 to 0.2 percent. nearly four out of every five people with no medical insurance has a foreign background. The number of uninsured fell by relatively most among Antilleans and Arubans: nearly 19 percent.
On 31 December 2010, 244 thousand people in the Netherlands were defaulting on payment of their medical insurance. This means that - according to the new definition of a defaulter as set down by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport - 1.9 percent of the adult population are defaulters.
Over 60 percent of the non-payers are men. Moreover, the percentage is higher among people with a foreign background than among the native Dutch population: 4.1 and 1.3 percent respectively. The share is high among Antilleans and Arubans in particular (13 percent). Overall, about 60 percent of defaulters receive a health care allowance.