WILLEMSTAD - State Secretary Maarten van Ooijen (CU) of Health, Welfare, and Sport (VWS) emphasized that the agreement on the National Ordinance Normering Top Incomes (LNT) between the Netherlands and Curaçao will remain unchanged, despite the differing opinions of medical specialists at the Curaçao Medical Center (CMC). In an interview with Nu.cw, Van Ooijen stated that the LNT was one of the conditions set by the Netherlands for providing corona support to Curaçao, and the agreement will not be altered.
Van Ooijen recently attended the Vierlanden Overleg, a meeting between the health ministries of Curaçao, Aruba, Sint Maarten, and the Netherlands.
The LNT establishes a financial ceiling for CMC medical specialists, which, according to their own statements, hinders their ability to perform their work with the required precision and quality. As a result, surgical procedures may be postponed, and waiting times in various departments could further increase.
In response to the LNT, CMC specialists have taken legal action against the government, seeking to have the National Ordinance overturned through the courts. The outcome of the summary proceedings filed by top specialists at the CMC against the government will be announced on June 12.