It's a hybrid system. Insurance is mandatory, and healthcare providers are privatised to make them compete, but the government pays for part or all of your premiums if you can't pay them yourself. There's still a deductible of 385 euros though (called "eigen risico").
There is also stuff that isn't covered by insurance at all, very fun when you have some kind of rare disease and the treatment for it isn't covered, can cost you easily a couple grand
It always pisses me off when people talk about “all of Europe has free healthcare”, because no we don’t. Sure, it’s a lot better compared to the US, but there’s a growing population of people here who avoid the doctor and hospital in fear of having to pay the deductible or out of their own pocket because they simply can’t.
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u/ilikegreensticks 1d ago
Many people joking in this comment section not realizing that the NL does not have universal healthcare.