We dug into a wide range of public sources to map the development from several angles. The result is a set of surprising insights.

There is much to be proud of in Dutch healthcare. The burden of disease has fallen in recent years and life expectancy has improved. Despite the concentration of care, access to hospital care has improved. The share of out-of-pocket payments has stayed stable and is relatively low. And the cost development under the Health Insurance Act (Zvw) has remained limited.

On the other hand, there is also cause for concern. There are large differences in access to care and in life expectancy between rich and poor. The Treek standards (waiting-time norms) are met less and less often. And the cost of long-term care (Wlz) has risen very sharply.