Dutch Mail-Order Pharmacy Plan Row

In the Netherlands, a number of pharmacies have refused to renew their contracts with health insurer Zilveren Kruis, in protest against the insurer's intention to establish a mail-order pharmacy business as a way of cutting costs. This service will be aimed primarily at chronically-ill patients.

Pharmacists now receive a 10-guilder ($6.00) fee for each prescription dispensed, and they want this increased for prescriptions that are not in future to be filled through mail order.

The pharmacists' national association, the KNMP, says there is "insufficient support" among its members for a national agreement with Zilveren Kruis, and it suggests that its members seek agreements with the insurer on a regional basis. In areas where no agreement exists, Zilveren Kruis policyholders will have to pay for their medicines in cash and then seek reimbursement from the insurer.