Patients and mental health care professionals have filed a major lawsuit against states and health insurers over “unacceptably long” waiting lists for people needing psychiatric treatment.
The plaintiffs allege that the state has not provided sufficient funding to address the problem and that insurance companies have neglected their duty of care by not purchasing enough mental health services. They say that both the state and insurance companies are endangering the right to life and the right to care.
The Dutch mental health authority NZ said around 100,000 people were waiting for psychiatric treatment at the end of last year, but said the actual figure was closer to 78,000 because one in five people had been on the waiting list multiple times.
Officials say more than half of this group are being forced to wait longer than is acceptable given medical conditions, which in the most urgent cases include trauma and depression.
the study A study from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam has shown that every additional month on the waiting list reduces a patient’s chances of returning to work in the long term by two percentage points.
The study also found that reducing waiting times by just one month could result in annual benefits of more than €300 million.
One of the plaintiffs, psychiatrist Manon Kleiwegt, said insurance companies have not contracted for the services of thousands of psychologists and psychiatrists, despite long waiting lists. Insurance companies are skimping on psychiatric care, paying $100,000 a year for services. €300 million profit budget for mental health care. The Ministry of Health subsequently said this was no longer the case.
If the money were allocated to GGZ’s mental health clinic, there would be no waiting list, she told the station. no.
“Insurance companies may tell professionals as early as May that they can’t take on any more patients covered by a particular insurer because the end of the budget is approaching.
“This can lead to dramatic situations for the patient. Then you have to negotiate with the insurance company to see if you can treat additional patients after all. And this is done at least three times a year with different insurance companies. It’s a complete waste of time,” Kleiwegt said.
Litigation
The plaintiffs are hoping the insurers will get their act together, otherwise the case could return to court later this year.
Martin Buijsen, a professor of health law, said the plaintiffs had a chance of success: “They have to prove that the insurers failed to meet their legal duty of care, and that looks difficult in this case,” he said.
A spokesman said insurers take their care obligations seriously and the government’s long-term care agreement includes measures to reduce waiting lists. A spokesman for Long-Term Care Minister Connie Helder said waiting lists were a “concerning issue.”
