This is evident from research by Independer based on data from the Dutch Healthcare Institute. In the Netherlands there are more than 1.1 million people with diabetes, 90 percent of whom have type 2 diabetes.
Price increase
Researchers looked at the reimbursement that insurers paid to pharmacies for patients with type 2 diabetes. In 2018, this cost an average of 35.57 euros per user per year and in 2022 this increased to 93.06 euros. This amounts to an increase of 161.7 percent. The price increase is based on the 28 prescribed medications for type 2 diabetes.
The picture looks different for people with type 1 diabetes. They need treatment with insulin and the costs for this injection have generally decreased in price. The average reimbursement for all types of insulin combined per user decreased by an average of 14.13 percent between 2018 and 2022.
Basic insurance
The medicines for diabetes type 1 and type 2 are reimbursed by basic insurance. “If you have type 2 diabetes, you usually do not need to inject insulin, but initially you only use medication. These medications are reimbursed, but at the expense of your deductible. In some cases you also have to pay a personal contribution, but this may differ per insurer,” says Mirjam Prins, health insurance expert at Independer.
Regional differences
The study looked at the distribution of the number of people with diabetes across the Netherlands. Most people with diabetes live in the province of Drenthe. In this province, 7.4 percent of all residents have diabetes. Limburg (7.1 percent) and Groningen (6.8 percent) also have relatively many people with type 1 and 2 diabetes. The percentage is lowest in Utrecht (5.1 percent) and North Holland (5.1 percent). 4 percent).
Locally the differences are much greater. According to the most recent figures from Vektis, most people with diabetes live in Tiel. In this Gelderland municipality, no less than 15.3 percent of the residents have diabetes. The percentage is the lowest in Oegstgeest. In this South Holland municipality, 3.3 percent of the residents have diabetes.
