Should I sign the contract or not?
The health insurer sends health care providers a contract and allows them to choose whether or not to sign it. There is no consultation and the choice to sign the contract is final.
Do not sign
If the psychologist chooses not to sign a contract, he/she will conduct the practice according to the laws applicable to it. The psychologist must comply with the legal rules as determined by the NZa and the quality requirements of the profession and professional association. The rates for care are set annually by the NZA according to the Health Care Market Regulation Act (WMG). However, the rate considered “market-based” by health insurers may differ from the WMG or NZA rate. The psychologist determines treatment choices and work content based on existing treatment protocols, but in consultation with the client. As a contract-free psychologist, he/she does not want to be required to have the contents of files or records viewed by an insurer, and client privacy is guaranteed.
Do draw
If the psychologist does choose to sign a contract, the health insurer determines what the psychologist must adhere to. The extent to which this is done varies by health insurer. The psychologist is then bound by the contract and will have less freedom in the choice and content of treatment, duration of treatment, number of clients he/she may see, rates he/she may charge, the number of clients allowed to be treated per year and the criteria for admission or referral to another psychologist. Also, the content of contracts may not be shared with clients.
Less privacy
Client privacy may also be less guaranteed because the insurer may demand access to patient records or patient files.
Rates and claims method
The insurer may also set the rates and prescribe the digital billing method. In the case where the psychologist does not have a contract, he/she is often not allowed to bill the insurer digitally. In this case, the psychologist sends the invoice to the client and the client must submit the invoice to the insurer himself. If the client has a natura basic policy, he/she will not be reimbursed the full amount and may have to pay the remainder himself/herself, depending on the level of reimbursement from the insurer.
Our mission
So at BrainArts, we consciously choose not to enter into a contract, despite the fact that it saves us 30% in revenue. We do this because we started BrainArts precisely to provide care that does help. And because we believe in a world where not everything is about money, but the human piece comes first.
Refund policy
It would be incredibly nice for us if our clients chose a restitution policy, so that everything would be reimbursed. But these are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. Still, this seems to be the only solution to continue offering the right care. We will actively ask our clients to take this into account when choosing their health care policy for 2024.
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