People who don't smoke and those who do sports and are not overweight should pay lower health insurance premiums the government is to be told.

The Council for Public Health Care (RVZ) is to advise ministers to introduce different premiums depending on peoples' lifestyles. To prevent the charges becoming too expensive for those on low earnings, the council will recommend that the basic health insurance premium should be income-related.

The council points to the fact that that over one-third of illness in the Netherlands is caused by unhealthy lifestyles. However, the major health insurance companies reject the idea of a range of premiums, saying such a system would be difficult to put into practice. They also argue that penalising unhealthy living risks making the Dutch health care system divisive.

Health Minister Ab Klink has already come out against higher premiums for unhelathy lifestyles.

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