Management

Research theme 1The introduction of the Health Insurance Act (Zvw) and the HealthCare Market Regulations Act (Wmg) has increased the room forcompetition in the Dutch health care system. It is thought thatcompetition would encourage health care providers, includinghospitals, to further improve quality of health care and have itorganised more effectively. In a competition driven health care system,strict enforcement of antitrust laws is essential. On both the supplyand demand sides parties should not be allowed to gain and abusemarket power. In other words, competition policy – including mergercontrol – should contribute to fair competition. As in other markets,increased competitive pressure in health care provokes consolidation.Because mergers reduce competition, proposed mergers must bereported and assessed prior to being consummated. The NetherlandsCompetition Authority (NMa) should prohibit mergers that result in adominant position.Merger control in health care markets is an important research topicwithin iBMG. The question of assessing the competitive effects ofhospitals mergers is particularly addressed. To safeguard effectivecompetition in this important market, health insurers as well aspatients should be able to choose from a sufficient number ofhospitals. In the Netherlands this is not self-evident. Over the years,mergers have substantially reduced the total number of hospitalorganisations. In order to guarantee sufficient choice options, the NMaHospital14