Vitamin D is important for strong bones, teeth, muscles and the immune system. Vitamin D is in fish, eggs or meat. Our skin also makes it from being outside.
However, this is not enough for a large group of people. People with tan skin, pregnant women and children up to the age of three are advised to take vitamin D every day. This also applies to fair-skinned women after their 50s and fair-skinned men from 70 years of age.
Higher dose also not reimbursed
Previously, a low dose of vitamin D was no longer reimbursed, now this also applies to a higher dose, can be read in advice of the National Health Care Institute.
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Currently, almost 1.5 million people are reimbursed for vitamin D. They are asked to purchase these resources themselves from now on.
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Not super expensive
A jar of vitamin D is not super expensive. A high dose (75 mg) of vitamin D costs € 6.39 for 60 pills at Kruidvat. For a low dose (10 mg) you pay € 2.49 for 300 pills.
For a dose of 20 mg per day, the annual costs per person are on average € 7.30 in free sale. Most people who now receive vitamin D on prescription can also buy it themselves, according to the National Health Care Institute. Vitamin D costs €79 per person per year if it is reimbursed from the basic package: €37 for the drug itself and €42 for delivery costs (pharmacy costs). That is more than 10 times as much. In total this concerns € 129 million per year.
Source: National Health Care Institute
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Not for everyone
Vitamin D may not be very expensive, but the non-reimbursed costs are ‘a problem for a large group’, says GP Shakib Sana from Rotterdam. “People with dark skin and vitamin D deficiency can suffer from muscle pain, bone pain or fatigue. I recommend those people with high-dose vitamin D as a supplement.”
The costs can really be a barrier for some, Sana says. “If people have to pay for it themselves, they often don’t start it. Then they take their complaints into the bargain. I wonder if this is smart in the long term, because if people don’t take vitamin D while they do need it this will lead to more visits to the GPs.”
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