Health insurers identified deliberate fraud with medical bills to the value of €3.7m last year, half the amount identified in 2011.

In 80% of cases, the fraud involved personal care budgets, addiction treatment and psychological care, the Volkskrant said at the weekend.

The figures are preliminary and come from the national health insurance association.

Bills

Insurers only describe fraud as a deliberate attempt to break the rules and benefit financially and do not include mistakes with medical bills, the Volkskrant says. In 2011, insurers reclaimed €167m from healthcare providers which they had paid out wrongly.

In May, the NRC said hospitals and private clinics are billing health insurance companies for millions of euros worth of treatment which is not medically necessary and therefore is not insured.

The paper says the wrongful payments total between €50m and €180m and come on top of an estimated €3bn to €4bn worth of fraudulent hospital bills currently under investigation. The new figures come from a confidential draft health ministry report.

In February, the Dutch health authority NZa warned health insurance companies they face fines if they fail to check hospital bills are accurate or inflated.