Update 24 February 2026
At the time of writing the southern part of The Netherlands is celebrating Carnival. This part of the country has strong Catholic traditions, of which Carnival is a core part. People from other parts of the country travel to experience the carnival parties, but are definitely seen as being “tourists”. Carnival or no carnival, there is still news to report from the Dutch healthcare sector. In this update we cover:
- Physiotherapy sector will not get minimum tariffs. What are the reasons?
- Buurtzorg reports losses on long-term care. What has happened?
- In a snapshot we give an overview of CLB, a company developing and producing home aids enabling the elderly to live longer at home
Physiotherapy sector will not get minimum tariffs
In earlier updates we have written about the popularity of the physiotherapy sector for private-equity companies and the ongoing consolidation of the sector. Physiotherapy is not covered by the Dutch compulsory healthcare insurance scheme but is typically covered by additional insurance provided by the healthcare insurance companies. Physiotherapy is seen as a commercial service and therefore tariffs have not been set by the NZA (Dutch Healthcare Authority). As a consequence, tariffs are set in negotiations between the individual physiotherapy providers and the healthcare insurance companies. The insurance companies typically have a stronger position in the negotiation process and are interested in keeping the tariffs as low as possible.
In 2024 the national organization for physiotherapists have therefore requested that the government sets minimum cost-based tariffs for physiotherapy services. Recently, the NZA published its analysis of the market and its recommendations. The report gives an interesting view of the market and is supported by a broad range of data. The NZA clearly sees that the physiotherapy sector has a key role in the further development of the healthcare market as it alleviates pressure on other primary care (GPs, etc.) and provides a “linking pin” between hospital care, prevention, and the social domain. The NZA also concludes that the sector will have difficulties in successfully fulfilling this role due to fragmentation, challenges in the current financing structure, and a low degree of organization.
Unfortunately for the sector, the NZA does not see massive problems for the sector today and does not recognize the case for “market failure” due to the purchasing power of the healthcare insurance companies. In addition, the NZA believes that setting minimum tariffs would not necessarily increase salaries in the sector, thereby leading to lower outflow of physiotherapists from the sector. Based on this, and the fact that setting minimum tariffs would be the first time that such an exercise has been conducted, leads the NZA not to recommend minimum pricing.
In the short term this is clearly bad news for the sector, as it will mean a continuation of the current methodology of healthcare insurance companies essentially setting the price they are willing to pay. In the longer term, the negative decision can be a catalyst for the sector to deal with other issues such as establishing a collective bargaining agreement, improving the overall working culture, and increasing the scientific support for physiotherapy in keeping the elderly population healthy and able to live independently.
Buurtzorg reports losses on long-term care
Buurtzorg is one of the most interesting healthcare providers active in the Dutch market (and slowly expanding internationally). Buurtzorg specializes in providing medical home care services but has also expanded via partners into other sub-segments such as primary care, mental healthcare and senior living. The basic business model of Buurtzorg is to have small self-managing teams that are highly educated and well trained. The teams are able to work efficiently and provide the necessary care with less hours used than other providers. This, combined with low overhead costs, makes Buurtzorg a low-cost provider.
While Buurtzorg has not yet published its 2025 annual report, the CEO, Joost de Blok, recently announced that the company has made a loss of €8 million on its activities for long-term care patients financed by the WLZ. Buurtzorg claims that they are able to provide care with up to 75% less manpower that other suppliers by using highly trained staff. However, the (hourly) tariffs paid are too low to cover the costs of the Buurtzorg staff resulting in a loss of €10 per hour of service provision. The CEO claims that most of the insurance companies are willing to discuss higher tariffs for Buurtzorg, but Buurtzorg has stopped accepting new clients from two insurance companies that have refused further discussions.
This is an interesting situation, but more details are required to fully understand the situation. As a starting point, the tariffs paid from WLZ financing are not based on hours input so it is unclear how Buurtzorg is calculating its losses. Secondly, the CEO, Joost de Blok, always has strong opinions and is not afraid to state them in order to start the processes to make changes that he thinks are required. This could therefore be a new marketing strategy from Buurtzorg.
Snapshot of a Dutch commercial healthcare company : CLB Integrated Solutions
CLB is a company that develops and supplies care technology such as systems that automatically forward alarms from ICU monitors, infusion pumps, etc. The company focuses on monitoring, personal alarm systems and communications systems allowing doctors and nurses to be alerted in critical situations. The company also develops solutions allowing (elderly) clients to live longer independently by monitoring ambient sound and using AI-solutions to detect situations where the client requires assistance.
The company has roots going back to 1981 when Cor Louis Berghuis (CLB) started developing technological solutions. The company currently has 225 employees and provides its solutions to a broad range of sector in the Dutch market (elderly care, disabled care, forensic care, etc.) and is also active in five other countries (including the UK). The company does not provide revenue information but has an EBITDA of approximately €2.4 million.