For the second year in a row, the Netherlands has been proclaimed as the country with the most customer-friendly healthcare. According to the European Health Consumer Index (EHCI), the Netherlands scores well in the areas of medical results, patient rights and medicines. Many Dutch citizens regard the healthcare here as inadequate, but a glance beyond the border shows that it could be much worse.

The EHCI compared 32 European countries, and came to the conclusion that the Netherlands was the highest achiever, followed by Denmark, Iceland and Austria. The researchers praised the availability of information and the electronic transfer of patient dossiers in the Netherlands. Nevertheless, the EHCI says that the waiting times for medical treatment are too long.

Traumatic experience
The appreciation of Dutch healthcare probably increases when someone from the Netherlands has to use a hospital in another country. On the Radio Netherlands Worldwide website for Dutch expats there are dozens of reactions describing the most awful experiences.

One of the reactions came from Petrus Snoeijer, who used to live in Poland:

"Our son needed a small operation when he was about one and a half years old. It was a small, routine operation, but because the doctor had not received any bribes, the operation was carried out incorrectly. We were also treated poorly by the hospital. For example, after the operation the dressing needed replacing, but the medical staff wouldn’t come. They literally told us that ‘you have to do that yourself’. And that’s only one small example."

Mr Snoeier finally moved to Germany due to the poor healthcare in Poland.

Complaints
Despite such horror stories from abroad, for many Dutch people it’s unbelievable that Dutch healthcare again finishes in first place. There are often complaints about the high cost and long waiting times. Healthcare seems to be better in neighbouring countries.

The Socialist Party shares in this criticism. One of its MPs, Henk van Gerven, says it’s a mystery how the Netherlands can end up in first place:

"People want good healthcare just around the corner. That’s what they’re especially looking for. If they then read that healthcare in the Netherlands is better than in Poland, they’re willing to accept that, but it doesn’t make the healthcare here any better. What we’ve seen is that the cost of healthcare insurance keeps rising year by year, and that under the new health insurance law it’s becoming more and more difficult for people on lower incomes to pay the premiums. Then we see that the number of defaulters has in the meantime increased to 280 thousand, and this number is increasing by 15 to 20 per cent every year. And that’s what people are noticing – that it’s steadily less affordable while the waiting lists continue to exist."

Equality
The Socialist Party wants a health system that’s based on equality and not market forces, as is now the case. Patients should not be seen as consumers. According to Mr Van Gerven the premiums for healthcare should not be the same for everybody, but should be based on the ability to pay.

Expats from outside Europe living in the Netherlands put a slightly different nuance on the situation. RNW’s Robert Chesal was born and raised in the US, but has lived for a number of years in the Netherlands. He says:

"If you have the money, or are well insured, then healthcare in the US is fantastic. And, I dare to say, better than in the Netherlands. You don’t have to worry about waiting lists, and the quality is usually perfect. On the other hand, in the Netherlands healthcare is of a good standard, and is in available to practically everyone. In the US that isn’t the case."

Obama
US President Barack Obama has also praised Dutch healthcare on a number of occasions. In a meeting with Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima earlier in September, Obama told the Prince that he finds it "a good system". But Mr Obama's opponents in the US also look at the waiting lists in the Netherlands, and use them as an example of what mustn't happen there. According to the EHCI, when it comes to waiting lists, the Netherlands scores even poorer than Albania.
 

RNW translation (as)