Whether the contraceptive pill will be included in the basic health insurance package is up to a new cabinet. That is what outgoing Minister Van Ark of Medical Care said in a debate with the House on Wednesday afternoon. Earlier this year, a majority of the House urged the return of the pill to the basic package, when a motion to that effect from the PvdA was supported.
The pill disappeared from basic insurance for most women in 2011. Only girls under 18 will be reimbursed. Between the ages of 18 and 21, the costs are deducted from the deductible. From the age of 21, women have to pay for it themselves or through the supplementary insurance.
Van Ark thinks it will cost an estimated 25 to 60 million euros if the pill is fully reimbursed again. She does not think such a decision is due to a caretaker cabinet.
SP MP Hijink thinks this is a weak argument because it does not cost the government itself, but will be settled via the premium that health insurers determine. If that increases, everyone will pay, instead of now only women, according to the SP MP. The return of the pill in the basic package may also lead to fewer unwanted pregnancies and therefore fewer abortions, say proponents of the return of the pill in the basic package.
Van Ark is not in favor of reimbursing the pill, because according to her it is not a matter of “medical necessity”.
In addition to the VVD, CDA, PVV and SGP also voted against the proposal at the beginning of this year. Together they had 74 seats at the time; now these parties have 69. It is not yet clear how new parties view the case.
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