Dutch Minister of Health cuts budget for internships and research

Since 2008, healthcare providers have received subsidies from a dedicated internship fund. The goal is to make more internship positions available and improve supervision. However, several studies have shown that the subsidy hasn't been very effective.

According to the General Audit Office, the biggest problem is the lack of internship supervisors, not a lack of money for supervision. That's why Minister Agema wants to cancel the internship fund altogether. Doing so would help the government save 122 million euros from 2028 onwards, she wrote to the House of Representatives on Monday.

Confused individuals
She also announced that less money will be spent on scientific research in the field of healthcare. For example, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) will have to structurally hand over 20 million euros. The minister still has to hold talks with RIVM to define which research projects will be affected.

Research financier ZonMW, which many universities and colleges rely on, will also lose 16 million euros, which will be taken away from several areas. For example, research into disorderly individuals will see its budget shrink by ten percent, while research into the efficiency of healthcare expenditure will have a fifteen-percent smaller budget.

Accessible
The Healthcare Institute, which finances scientific research into medicines and medical treatments, will suffer the biggest blow: 36 million euros will be cut from its budget in the long run. 

Agema also wrote to the Parliament that she has chosen to cut money from research into better care. "In doing so, we retain research funds that promote the accessibility of care," such as research into waiting lists, staff shortages and healthcare in areas with a shrinking population.