During the budget discussion of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport on 24 and 25 January, Member of Parliament Bushoff submitted an amendment for a pilot with post-COVID outpatient clinics. He also submitted an amendment on additional resources for healthcare workers with post-COVID. An amendment is a request to adjust the budget. Both amendments will be voted on on 15 February.
Bushoff has in his amendment on the post-COVID clinics proposed to release 27 million for a pilot with post-COVID clinics. The minister has indicated that she understands the wish in terms of content. After all, we all want patients with post-COVID to receive appropriate care. However, she has a number of reservations about the amendment. She indicates that VWS is not responsible for the organization of care. That is up to the care itself. In addition, the duration of the pilot (2 years) is too short in the opinion of the minister. The argument is that research, in which patients receive care in the context of that research, takes more time. She also indicates that the coverage of the pilot is not entirely correct. The amendment focuses on the use of the end-of-year margin. However, this cannot yet be claimed at this stage. During the debate, the minister also informed the House that a working meeting has already been planned for the end of February with various parties involved to jointly examine how clinics can be designed. For these reasons, the minister has advised the House of Representatives against this amendment.
In Bushoff's amendment on additional resources for healthcare workers he requests an extension of the target group of the scheme. The minister indicated that a scheme can only be used from a legal perspective if the definition of the target group is based on objective criteria. These objective criteria only exist for the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands. In addition, the minister is of the opinion that the coverage of this amendment is not entirely correct. This also focuses on the use of the end-of-year margin. This cannot yet be claimed at this stage. For these reasons, the minister also advised the House of Representatives against this amendment.
Read the minister's full response here.
The House of Representatives will vote on both amendments on 15 February.
