Solidarity and Care in the Netherlands
In his chapter on solidarity, based on the theories of classical and modern sociologists, Van Oorschot (1998) defines solidarity as ‘an actual state of interrelations between individuals, groups and the larger society, which enables the collective interest to take priority over the interests of individuals or sub-collectivities’. In doing so, he seems to rephrase Durkheim’s organic solidarity. The Dutch health care system may cause one to wonder if such a definition enables us to grasp what solidarity really means. In our view, it makes the existing solidarity arrangements only partly visible. It takes solidarity on the macro-level into account, but not solidarity on the micro level, with regard to the delivery of informal care.
Dutch Health Insurance Reform: An Evolving Effort to Transform Healthcare
Healthcare is one of the most important institutions in every society, and healthcare reform is a vital contemporary public policy issue in industrialized countries. In these nations, new technology and advancements in medicine coupled with an aging population are producing rapidly increasing demands for healthcare along with rising expenditures. Healthcare administration varies drastically across countries, and several have recently made attempts to address the changing needs of their population. The Netherlands in particular instituted major health insurance reforms in the beginning of 2006. These reforms are a result of years of deliberation and incremental changes, and many of the system’s features are reflective of the work presented by the Dekker Commission in 1987. (Bartholomee and Maarse, “Health Insurance Reform . . .”) The new Dutch system depends upon private insurers in a regulated competition setting to provide quality healthcare and contain costs. Nearly universal coverage (98.5 percent of the population) is achieved by requiring all residents to purchase a basic health insurance policy. (van de Ven and Schut) In this article I describe the Dutch health insurance system prior to 2006 and identify the key motives for reform. I then explain the new system with regards to its key features and methods of financing. After discussing the early results of the reform, I analyze the system’s future and suggest the areas in which the system will require further adjustment in order to be successful in the long run.
Choices in Health Policy: An Agenda for the European Union
Chapter 1 Challenges to health. Chapter 2 The health care context. Chapter 3 Cost containment and health care reforms. Chapter 4 Outcomes management and technology assessment. Chapter 5 Establishing priorities in practice. Chapter 6 Systematic approaches to establishing priorities. Chapter 7 Preventive interventions and health promotion. Chapter 8 Migrants and ethnic minorities. Chapter 9 Proposals for the future role of the Community. Annexes: official priorities of Member States recommendations on the role of community Institutions.