Total health expenditure as share of GDP in the Netherlands 1998-2022
An important characteristic of Dutch health insurance, though, is the so-called "principle of social solidarity": the overall costs of health care are paid by everybody. It is since 2008, for example, compulsory from the age of 18 to pay a total mandatory excess before the basic health insurance reimburses medical costs. In this way, everybody contributes to certain types of healthcare such as maternity care. In 2021, the total mandatory excess reached a value of 385 euros.