NETHERLANDS: A Dutch health insurer has said it will reimburse policyholders who consume certain cholesterol-reducing margarine, yoghurt and milk products in a bid to fight heart disease.
VGZ, one of the largest health insurers in the Netherlands with about 2.1 million customers, said this was the first time an insurance company would be subsidising food rather than medicine, and said it hoped to cut drug and hospital costs.
VGZ said policyholders could claim up to a maximum of €40 a year to refund purchases of Becel proactive products, made by Anglo-Dutch consumer products group Unilever NV/Plc, which studies show cut cholesterol.
One in three people in the Netherlands have high levels of cholesterol, the VGZ said in a statement, adding that 120,000 of its policyholders took medication to lower their cholesterol, at a cost of €35 million a year to the insurer. Some insurers in Ireland penalise smokers by loading their life and health insurance policies. - (Reuters)