Healthcare and insurance

Yes, by law students who study and/or work are legally required to have health care insurance.

In case of emergencies and life threatening situations dial 112.

In all other situations contact your General Practitioner (in Dutch ‘huisarts’ ) for advice first. Insurances do not cover the costs when you call the emergency number or go straight to the hospital when it is not really necessary.

Via ZorgkaartNederland you can look for a GP near you. Type in your Postal code at the top. In the left menu check under 'Beroep: Huisarts' (which means Profession: General Practitioner). Also in the left menu you can select the maximum distance (kilometres) in which you want to look for a GP. Once you find one there will be a link to their website. You can contact them by looking up their phone number or e-mail address. Try to register with one of them. Call in the morning to book an appointment.

After office hours your phone call to your GP will be directed to a special doctor's service number, which is 0900-9229. Don't call this number directly unless your appointment cannot be postponed until the next day. You could be charged €80 or more just for calling this telephone number for advice. Medical problems that could have waited until the next day are not covered by your insurance.

In case you want to cancel your appointment for whatever reason, you should do so at least 24 hours in advance, otherwise you will still be presented with a bill.

HelloDoc – Online consultation

Another option is HelloDoc. AON insurance company partners with HelloDoc. This online telehealth service is available for foreign nationals who have arrived in The Netherlands and who are in need of a GP. HelloDoc gives advice and treatment in case you are not able to register with a GP and require non-urgent medical care. Their team includes doctors from different nationalities, including Russian, Indian, Belgian, Australian, British, Spanish, Peruvian, and Cameroonian. Billing can often be arranged directly with AON Student Insurance. You can find more information on the website of HelloDoc.

No, you always need a referral note from your GP first. You can only visit the hospital directly in case of an emergency.

Important:

• You need to make an appointment with your GP before you can visit a hospital.
• You need to bring your insurance card to the doctor at all times.
• You need a referral note from your GP for a specialist.
• Dutch doctors do not always automatically prescribe medicine.
• Go directly to the hospital only in case of emergency.

Medicine can be bought at all pharmacies. For most of them, you will need a prescription from your General Practitioner. Reclaiming the money you've paid for medicine is done through your own health insurance.

Go to zorgwijzer for more detailed information about EHIC and Health insurance for students in The Netherlands.

Yes. It is mandatory to take out Dutch public health insurance. Not doing so will result in huge fines!

Unless you make more than the Dutch minimum wage you do not need Dutch public health insurance. 

When you receive a letter from the CAK, there are two possible actions:

• Get Dutch public health insurance
• Apply for a Wlz assessment at the Social Insurance Bank (SVB)

Visit the CAK website for more information.

You can find the summary of coverage for the AON Complete+ package here.

Yes. Whenever your AON insurance is about to expire, you can request a new insurance on the website of AON.

If you’re a first-year non-EU/EEA student we bought the AON Complete+ package for you. If you have found a job or decided to quit your studies, please send an email to [email protected] so that we can cancel your insurance.

If you ever extended your AON student insurance, you will have to cancel it yourself through AON’s website.

No, as soon as you start working, you are required to take out the Dutch Basic Health insurance.

You only are allowed to take out Dutch public health insurance when you have a job.

Not sure if you need Dutch Public Health insurance? You can apply for an assessment of your Wlz insurance position.

There are many insurance companies. Hanze University of Applied Sciences has an agreement with Menzis and Zilverenkruis who will give you a discount on their premium. Another insurance company whom we have a good relation with is AON, who offer Dutch public health insurance as well. You are, of course, free to choose any other Dutch health care insurance. Websites like Zorgwijzer and Studenten verzekeringen can help you make a choice.

You can only switch once a year, between 12 November and 31 December. When switching, your new insurance will be valid from the 1st of January on. Your old insurance is automatically cancelled for you by your health insurance provider.

No, but you can buy an additional insurance (‘aanvullende verzekering’) for dental care.