Evaluating Reforms in the Netherlands' Competitive Health Insurance System

The 2006 health care reform in the Netherlands attracted widespread international interest in the impact of regulated competition on key factors such as prices, quality, and volume of care. This article reviews evidence on the performance of the health care system six years after the reform: health care costs have kept growing; quality information has become readily available; hospital efficiency has improved on an annual basis; and consumers have had greater choice. The transition to regulated competition is a gradual process. The full effects may not become evident until sometime in the future. Looking forward, monitoring the health care system is an important prerequisite to better understand the effects of regulated competition in health care.