Going Dutch: The Netherlands Alternative of Using Private Insurers to Provide Universal Healthcare Coverage
The Netherlands provides its citizens with affordable universal healthcare coverage, without any disqualifications for prior conditions, without any threat of the loss of coverage upon a change of employment, and without a public option. Jonathan Chait describes how it is done in this column in the New Republic. Lowell and Hedgehog Readers, is this an viable alternative for the U.S.?
posted by The Kosher Hedgehog at 2:35 PM
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1 Comments:
I would withhold judgment for now. As I said in a post at Soundpolitics.com, the Dutch system has only been in place for three years. It has taken several decades for year-over-year premium increases in our system to become intolerable. Likewise, waiting lines and restriction or curtailment of services has resulted in growing dissatisfaction in Canada with its system. Time will tell whether the Dutch system turns out to be the best compromise or the worst of all worlds. Because there is little cost sharing in the Dutch system (low co-pays and deductibles), the only way it will be able to hold down costs is by imposing extensive top-down rationing of the kind practiced in Canada and the UK.
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