Independent medical specialists face an annual salary ceiling of €285,000 from next year, well below the €400,000 which some currently earn, the Volkskrant reports on Tuesday.

The proposal is one of a string of cash-saving measures which caretaker health minister Ab Klink wants to introduce. He plans to reduce the budget for spending on specialists from €2.7bn to €1.8bn.
Loophole
Klink also wants to make sure all specialists bills are processed through hospitals and that hospitals themselves become responsible for any overspend. Last year, the total bill for specialist help was €700m above budget.
Some of this was due to a loophole in the current fee structure, which ensures specialists get paid whether or not they were involved in an individual’s treatment.
The Netherlands has some 6,000 medical specialists on fixed contracts and 6,700 independents.