Barend van Lieshout: The VVD waves magic healthcare wand

The VVD is not quite honest when it comes to the side-effects of its tough medicine approach, writes Barend van Lieshout.

 

The VVD in its manifesto proudly announces it will save €7bn on healthcare. That would be wonderful. Healthcare expenditure would still rise but it would mean an end to a worrying trend. 
 
The VVD fairytale is too good to be true, however. It’s far from clear where the €7bn is supposed to come from, but wherever this bitter slimming pill is going to be administered, the side effects will be very serious. And that is not something the VVD likes to touch upon.
 
A higher own risk charge sounds very decisive but is nothing more than an extra burden on the taxpayer and only serves to shift the problem, not solve it. The remaining positive effect will be limited. We may become slightly more critical when it comes to spending money on care but we’re not going to be critical enough to save €7bn.

Solidarity

A reduction of the basic healthcare package does go to the heart of the problem. In the next ten years the increase in healthcare expenditure will be caused by new, very expensive treatments. And although premium payers would like a smaller basic package, they will be very quick to change their minds once they or their loved ones need such treatment.

The humble wheeled walking frame has been argued over for the last ten years. Are we now going to argue over life-saving care? This is where solidarity comes in: will people find it acceptable that our well-to-do neighbour goes abroad to buy an expensive course of chemotherapy that is not available at home because the government wants to keep healthcare costs down? That €7bn is not going materialise here either.

The VVD wants the healthcare sector to become more productive too. It even comes up with a couple of tips. But seriously,  fishing superfluous medicines out of the bin and billing people for no-shows is not going to make the difference. 

The party’s ideas about multidisciplinary care, fewer hospitals ( a painful political process), separating accommodation from care and focusing on the patient and his environment make much more sense.

It’s disappointing, however, that the right-wing liberals are not in favour of extending that VVD crown jewel, the individual care budget. Maybe it’s too hard for them to distance themselves from the failure of the last cabinet.

Bitter pill

There is nothing wrong with the VVD’s ambition. The healthcare system needs to swallow an extremely bitter pill and the painful side-effects (less solidarity, fewer new treatments) are down to political choices.

But if the VVD had had the courage to be straight with the voters, the list of side-effects in the instruction leaflet of this particular medication would have been a lot longer.

This is the last in a series by Barend van Lieshout on the healthcare plans of the main parties.

 

 

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