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