What is the preferred policy (Preferred policy) medicines?
The preferred policy is also called the preferred policy. This means that your health insurer has chosen 1 brand of a certain medicine as the preferred medicine. This preferred medicine is the medicine that your health insurer reimburses.
Why is there a preferred medication?
This preferred medication is the cheapest medication of its kind. It has the same effect as the other variants. The pharmacy gives you the preferred medication because your health insurer only reim burses this medication. Partly due to the preferred policy, your health insurance remains affordable.
What is the advantage?
Since the introduction of the preferred policy, the cost of medication has dropped considerably. As a result, Dutch people can get medication for the lowest prices in the Western world.
What is the disadvantage?
The relatively low cost of medication also has a disadvantage: there is a shortage of medication sooner. This can result in you having to change medication more often. This is how it works: manufacturers create smaller stocks of medication because they generate less profit. Is there a greater demand for the medication than the supply? Then the manufacturer first sells the medication to a country where they get paid more for their medication.
What does this mean for you in practice?
Your health insurer will most likely only reimburse the vitamin B12 ampoules of the Centrafarm brand. If you still want to receive the ampoules of the Takeda brand, you will pay the costs yourself, even though you have a prescription.
The doctors of the B12 Institute must also adhere to the preference policy. They can and may only state Medical Necessity on the prescription if the patient is known to have kidney and/or liver dysfunction, is a child or is pregnant. Or if there has been a proven allergy or serious side effect when using the Centrafarm ampoules. If you think you qualify for Takeda on the basis of Medical Necessity (MN), we would like to receive proof of this, such as allergy test results from the dermatologist/allergist.