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Access to Health Care in the Netherlands: The Influence of (European) Treaty Law

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

André den Exter
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In the Netherlands, access to healthcare has been guaranteed by social health insurance legislation. But since the introduction of the Health Insurance Act (“Zikenfondswet”) in the 1960s, the health insurance system has been in a state of flux. Numerous reforms have changed the system gradually, of which the latest is the introduction of a competitive health insurance scheme for the entire population.

Cutting across the various reforms has, however, been the goal of access to healthcare services as defined by international treaty law, including European Union law. In particular the leverage of Community law in strengthening the patient’s right to healthcare is remarkable. Since the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has accepted that healthcare should be considered as a service in terms of the EC Treaty, rights to healthcare have become inextricably linked with the free movement principles and are no longer restricted to the jurisdiction of the country of origin.

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Article
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Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics , Volume 33 , Issue 4 , Winter 2005 , pp. 698 - 710
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 2005

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References

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