The Dutch Want it All

The Dutch system is very interesting in that it tries to combine so many different models. They want partially publicly funded health insurance as well as the free market. They mandate that everyone must have coverage, yet let the wealthy 35% choose where to buy insurance. They utilize private hospitals and try their best to cover vulnerable populations. I am wondering how they ration health care in this system since all systems must ration based on something.

The recent reform movement combining public and private markets divides their health care system. I do agree that market-based competition may not have the upper hand compared to public models. If the government does not enroll enough healthy people, especially amongst the wealthier proportion, they are at risk for entering a deficit. The private sector is also profit-based so they may offer different perks like more coverage to attract more customers. If the public model fails with the new implementation of the private sector, the consequences could be very grave. The Dutch government could re-evaluate their current health care infrastructure to determine the