An introduction to the Dutch Healthcare System

 This week we had our first introduction to the Dutch Healthcare system. No worries- it was not because of an emergency (unless you consider living with children as a constant emergency).
 Unlike many European countries the Dutch healthcare system is not completely socialized. It is more like the Massachusetts model were everyone is required to buy insurance. As part of the visa process we actually had to show that coming into the country we would be covered by some sort of health insurance. Because so many professors go abroad, Gettysburg College provides a health insurance plan that we can use while we are here ( a Cadillac healthcare plan if I have ever heard one.) So we were able to check that box rather easily. Hurah!

When we arrived I began looking for a general practitioner (a huisarts as they are called here) right away since kids have a habit of getting ill at the most inconvenient of times. In some of the literature about Leiden that the University provided, it recommended a few doctors that spoke English and that were used to dealing with expats. I contacted their office to see if they were accepting new patients and to see if they would be able to cover the vaccinations that Klaus will need while we are here. They replied that they could and asked us to register online. The registry took a little translating but we eventually got it figured out. The practice is a quick bike ride from our house and there is even a drop in time slated for every week. Seems like it will work out perfectly.

  Meanwhile I had gotten several letters- one from the Centrum voor Jeugd en Gezin (CJG)  and two from the Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu. The latter requested the vaccine certificates of both of the boys. All I had brought was a handwritten list of Klaus's. Luckily one of our pediatricians in Gettysburg had given me his email address in case I needed to ask a question while we were here. I hurried up and asked him to email the records to me. He replied quickly but must have misunderstood and only sent Klaus's records. There was a deadline for when I had to send in the records so I had to get them soon. I was worried about abusing the privilege of the email address so I tried to walk a fine line between respecting the pediatrician's time and spurring him to action. I spaced out my emails in an effort to not be annoying. In the end he got it to me but not before the deadline. I had to check the box on the form indicating that I did not posses Leif's records. So far I have not heard anything back from the Rijksinsinstituut.
  The letter from the CJG said that they knew we had just moved to the area and it gave us their contact information in case we would like to use their services. It gave no indication of what their services were. Upon going to their website it said that the CJG can "answer all of your questions about parenting and growing." So, great, I figured it was just a public help office. I kept the letter but didn't figure I would be contacting them while we are here.
 About three weeks later I received another letter. This time it said that they were going to come to our house on July 12 at 9:30. Woah! Wait. What? So I emailed the contact person on the letter and asked what this was all about. "I didn't make this appointment....I don't understand why you are coming to the house...We are not citizens..etc." She must have been laughing at this clueless American when she read it. She wrote back to me and politely assured me that this is how it is done in the Netherlands. Previously I said that people have to pay for insurance here, right? That is only for people over 18. Kids get free healthcare here. Whats more the government really takes charge of it. They won't let any kids fall through the cracks even two non citizens that are only here for 6 months. When a child is born in the Netherlands the CJG does several home visits to help the parents adjust to life with a baby and also to check out the home to give tips on how to make it a safe environment for a child. Since we just moved here the CJG was required to visit our home to do the same.
  So last Friday a very nice woman named Anja came to visit us. I had been a little anxious about it since we have done very little childproofing as it is not our house. I actually had some sparks of conservative thought- "how dare they come into my home and tell me how to raise my kids". But it really was not like that. We just sort of sat and had a friendly chat. She explained a little more about the healthcare system and the CJG; Kids get all of their regular check-ups and vaccinations at the CJG office. They only go to the huisarts when they are sick (this made me wonder why the huisarts office did not mention this when I asked them about vaccinations...might have saved me from looking so foolish...anyway...). At the end Anya said "And you have an appointment at the office for next Tuesday at 10:20." Ok then. Conservatives would not do well here.
   

Just two average dutch kids.

We dutifully went to our appointment today. We were almost late due to a flat bike tire but I booked it there with the stroller and we arrived right on time. I tried to check-in in dutch but the woman could see that I was not following and she began speaking in English (fail!). She weighed and measured the kids both of whom fell in the average category on the Dutch charts (way to blend in guys!). Then we were taken to the exam room by a doctor who was very nice but whose name I never got. Before we even came in it was clear that he had been researching the U.S. vaccination schedule. The schedules are pretty similar but not the same. Together with the list that our home pediatrician gave me we figured out what they could give Klaus and what might have to wait until we get home (turns out that the Dutch do not vaccinate for Hep A or chicken pox). He tested Leif with a few games and gave him an eye test. Klaus got a the standard baby tests (hip check and so forth...doctor comment on his circumcision...apparently that is not done very often here) and two shots. We thanked the doctor and were sent back out to the waiting room. Before we were allowed to leave I had to make Klaus' 14 month appointment. The Netherlands watches out for its children. Even temporary ones.