Satisfaction with the Health Care System in the Netherlands

This paper analyzes the determinants of individual satisfaction with the Dutch health care system. We study self-interest and value-related factors influencing satisfaction with the Dutch health care system. Using the 2008-2014 data from the LISS panel, we aim not only to study satisfaction differences among different social groups determined by factors like  income, education, health, past experience with the health care system or the level of contribution to the system, but also to asses changes in satisfaction levels over time. Preliminary results indicate lower satisfaction levels among the sicker, lower educated and lower income groups.

 The Netherlands is worth close analytical attention for three reasons. First, the Dutch health care system straddles the SHI/NHS dichotomy, incorporating elements of both. Second, the Netherlands adopted a far-reaching reform of the health care system in 2005 (implemented in 2006) that merged the existing public sickness insurance funds with private health insurance, creating a publicly regulated private system with strong elements of solidaristic financing. There is very little research on individual satisfaction with health care since this reform. Most of the cross-sectional studies that include the Netherlands use pre-2006 data. Finally, we use dynamic panel models to capture the mean change in satisfaction with the health care system between 2008 and 2014. This approach generates more robust findings than OLS regression or regression using panel data, because we are able to account for the effect of individuals' past evaluations of the health care system as well as country-specific institutions that influence individual attitudes.