The Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport (In Dutch:Minister van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport, VWS), has decided to postpone the initial effective date of the package modification related to dentistry and physiotherapy to July 1st 2013. These measures have caused a lot of commotion on the islands. Therefore, Minister Schippers decided to postpone the initial effective date of January 1st 2013, of certain package changes, which gave no opportunity to anticipate to the new situation, with half a year.
This means that the package changes for dentist, orthodontics and physiotherapy will come into effect from July 1st 2013. This ensures a careful introduction. All stakeholders in the Dutch Caribbean, citizens and medical professionals, just like in the European Netherlands, will get six months the time to prepare themselves for the changes. To be perfectly clear: current treatments and even new physiotherapy appointments can be made, provided that they are completed before July 1st 2013.
For the future, the minister will equalize the procedure related to the decisions regarding the package for European Netherlands and the Dutch Caribbean. This means that decisions about package measures will be announced before July the 1st of the year preceding the year in which the changes will become effective. This gives a standard period of six months and it ensures that everyone has enough time to prepare for the measures.
Because of the time difference with the Netherlands this post has already appeared in the Dutch press and on the website of the 1st and 2nd Chamber