Minister Helder definitively presses the pause button on the public annual accounts. This is evident from the letter to Parliament about the results of the Wtza implementation test. In the same letter she also shows sensitivity to increasing the numerical limit for internal supervision. However, she does not yet want to make a statement about where exactly this border should be located. The First Line Coalition (ELC)* asks for clarity.
Pause button for financial years 2022 and 2023
In the letter, Minister Helder indicates that the pause button applies retroactively to the financial years 2022 and 2023. The pause button only applies to existing healthcare providers (providers who already had a practice before January 1, 2022). The pause button does not apply to new providers (see started after January 1, 2022) and providers where a change in legal form took place after January 1, 2022, resulting in a change in the Chamber of Commerce number. They must provide annual accounts for 2022 and 2023.
Good first step, but not enough
As a First Line Coalition (ELC), we are pleased that the minister has listened to the concerns in practice and the annual accountability for at least existing providers on hold has put. This gives healthcare providers more time to prepare. However, in our opinion, a two-year delay is not enough. Even in two years’ time, the annual accountability obligation for primary care providers will take up a lot of time. We therefore still argue for cancellation instead of just postponement.
In her letter, the Minister refers to administrative agreements that were made last year with the First Line Coalition about the content of the public annual accounts. The First Line Coalition does not recognize this statement by the minister. We have spoken frequently with the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport about the content of the annual accounts, but our commitment has always been: exception for primary care.
Increase internal supervision limits
In the letter to Parliament, the minister indicates that, in response to the signals from primary care about the disproportionality of the obligation to establish internal supervision for more than 25 employees, she wants to consider whether it would not be better to shift the limit for internal supervision. . In the letter she does not make any statement about where the boundary should be drawn because she first wants to explore all the pros and cons. She will share the results of this exploration with the House by the middle of next year.
The ELC is positive about the fact that the minister takes the concerns from the field seriously and is aware of the undesirable consequences of the number limit of 25 employees. However, we ask the minister at short notice to provide clarity about what this means for the obligation of primary care providers to have internal supervision in place by January 1. Does this obligation remain or does the minister’s statement mean that they can feel released from this obligation until further notice?
Since such an obligation costs small-scale healthcare providers in primary care a lot of time and money, it is important for them to know in a timely manner what is expected of them in this regard.
ELC’s commitment remains: repair legislation and preventing more tax burden
We would like to emphasize that as ELC we are very positive about the fact that the minister shows that he listens to the field and takes our objections seriously. However, we remain of the opinion that both annual reporting and the establishment of internal supervision remain a disproportionate burden on small-scale healthcare providers in primary care. We therefore continue to argue for repair legislation and call on the House of Representatives to continue to look at the proportionality of (new) legislation and to be aware of cumulative effects.
Technical briefing Advisory Board on Regulatory Burden Assessment
On October 3, the Advisory Board on Regulatory Burden (ATR) will provide a technical briefing in the House of Representatives on the effects of regulatory burden on, among others, healthcare professionals. The report they prepared for this briefing clearly shows that the quality of proposed regulations in healthcare is declining. Too often, the regulatory burden consequences for healthcare institutions, professionals and citizens are not or insufficiently mapped out. This makes well-considered decision-making impossible in some cases. In the report, ATR makes a number of recommendations to the House of Representatives that can help prevent or remove unnecessary regulatory burden. For example, the council calls on MPs not to automatically request new legislation and regulations in the event of incidents. But first carefully analyze which problem needs to be solved and what may be required for this.
Read more about the ATR’s advice on regulatory pressure in healthcare here
* The First Line Coalition is a collaboration of KNMP, KNMT, KNOV, LHV, LVVP, PPN**, NVM, NVvP and ONT.
**The PPN (Paramedical Platform Netherlands) is formed by 6 paramedical professional associations, namely: Ergotherapie Nederland, NVD (Dietitians), NVH (Skin Therapists), NVLF (Speech Therapists), OVN (Optometrists Association Netherlands), VvOCM (Exercise Therapists Cesar and Mensendieck )
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You can find everything about the Wtza in our theme.