Dutch court upholds cancellation of new dental fee system

A Dutch court just upheld the decision by parliament to end the experiment allowing dentists to set their own fees.

Back in July, parliament voted to reintroduce fixed, government-regulated fees after research showed that dentists had increased their prices significantly since the rules changed without any marked improvement in quality.

Following the vote in July, the Dutch Society for the Advancement of Dentistry (Nederlandse Maatschappij tot bevordering der Tandheelkunde, or NMT) took their case to court in an attempt to have the cancellation overturned.

Now that the NMT has been ruled against, the national health authority (Nederlandse Zorgautoriteit) will once again determine the prices for all dental treatments from January 1.

Sources: NOS, De Telegraaf