Diederik Schrijvershof and Leah Peeters have successfully represented Stichting de Forensische Zorgspecialisten (“DFZS‘) in an appeal procedure before the College Beroep voor het Bedrijfsleven (’CBb‘) against the Dutch Healthcare Authority (’NZa‘) regarding the rates set for 2023 for mental healthcare (‘ggz’) and forensic care (’fz’).
These CBb appeal proceedings concern (among other things) the fact that the rates for 2022 and 2023 do not take sufficient account of the so-called “indirect time” in healthcare provision. This is the time that healthcare providers do not spend directly with the patient, but during which they are working for the patient. This includes, for example, administrative work and preparations for contact moments with the patient. In addition to DFZS, ARQ Centrum '45, the Dutch mental healthcare sector, the Dutch Association for Psychiatry and Meer GGZ also lodged appeals. During the hearing at the CBb, various healthcare providers, including Fivoor, answered questions from the CBb alongside DFZS. Maverick Advocaten is assisting DFZS, Fivoor, ARQ Centrum 45 and other healthcare providers in ongoing appeal proceedings against NZa rates for mental healthcare and fz 2024 and 2025.
With regard to 2022/2023, DFZS and the other (associations of) healthcare providers have been vindicated by the CBb. The CBb considers that it has become clear that indirect time has increased since 2017. Nevertheless, the NZa has not included more indirect time in the rates than the total indirect time that was declared and reimbursed in 2017. As a result, the rates do not cover the costs.
According to the CBb, it is not possible to wait for the results of the new cost study, which the NZa intends to use to determine the rates for the year 2026. The CBb therefore has ruled that the NZa must re-determine the rates for 2022 and 2023 within three months of 22 August 2024. The indirect time must be incorporated into the rates on the basis of the most recent data. The CBb ruling is also a victory for mental healthcare and physical therapy providers because the NZa cannot ignore the CBb's ruling for the 2024 and 2025 rate decisions.
- Maverick Advocaten assists healthcare providers on a daily basis in achieving cost-covering rates in healthcare or in challenging inadequate (turnover) ceilings. For example, Maverick successfully litigated before the CBb on behalf of Stichting De Bevlogen Huisartsen and 129 individual general practitioners against the Rate Decision for General Practitioners and Multidisciplinary Care 2023.
- Maverick Advocaten has previously achieved success in (interim relief) proceedings for healthcare providers in the procurement of, among other things, primary diagnostics (also on appeal, STAR judgment), general practitioner care, acute mental healthcare (here and here), forensic care, youth care, SGLVG care, Wlz care (also on appeal), Wmo care (see also here).
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