The nationwide health care association GGZ Netherlands is taking Health Minister Ab Klink to court over planned cuts in mental health care, the association said on Friday in a press release.

Minister Klink recently announced his intention to lower tariffs for mental health treatment by 3.5 percent next year, because GGZ members overspent by 185 million euros in 2008. Lower tariffs would mean less income for the GGZ member institutions.

GGZ says the cuts are unjustified. The association is concerned that a number of health care institutions will not be able to cope financially, and that waiting lists for treatment will get longer.

GGZ claims that there are no figures that prove the minister's point, and says it is not clear how he arrived at the amount of 185 million euros. In its defence, the organisation points out that its overspending cannot be blamed exclusively on the institutions. The minister's estimates of the growth in demand for 2008 were clearly too low, GGZ says.