The "health benefit basket" in the Netherlands.
This contribution describes the entitlements in Dutch health care and explores how these entitlements are determined and to whom they apply. The focus is on services of curative care. No comprehensive positive or negative list of individual services is included in formal laws. Instead, the legislation states only what general types of medical services are covered and generally the "usual care" criterion determines to which interventions patients are entitled. This criterion is not very restrictive and yields local variations in service provision, which are moderated by practice guidelines. It is conceivable, however, that the recent introduction of the DBC financing system will change the reimbursement and therefore benefit-setting policy.
Stolk
Elly A
EA
Institute for Medical Technology Assessment, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. e.a.stolk@erasmus.nl
Rutten
Frans F H
FF
D005380:Financing, Government / Q000458:organization & administration; D006291:Health Policy; D006292:Health Priorities / Q000458:organization & administration; D006296:Health Services; D006298:Health Services Administration; D006801:Humans; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000191:economics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009426:Netherlands; D005791:Patient Care