Better checks on hospital bills and insurance claims generated savings of €1.2bn for health insurers last year, according to their national association ZN.

In some cases bills contained the wrong fees or codes and in others patients were given less care than the bills indicated, ZN said.

In total, health insurers paid out €33m in claims under the basic health insurance system, ZN said.

Wrong billing and deliberate fraud are currently at the heart of efforts to reduce the amount of money spent on primary healthcare. Health minister Edith Schippers wants to ensure all patients get copies of their bills from next year as an added check.