First NZa/TILEC course on competition and regulation in healthcare

On 20 and 21 November, Jan Boone, Wolf Sauter, Misja Mikkers, Marcel Canoy and Leigh Hancher gave the first high-level course within the framework of the NZa/TILEC cooperation. Fifteen participants - all staff members of NZa - took part in a full two-day programme. The first day started with a class-room experiment on lemons. Students learnt how markets can 'disappear' due to lack of information on product quality. After that, the Dutch Healthcare system was the topic of discussion. The current system was described, after which special attention was given to the pros and cons of competition, regulation, auctions and state provision. On the second day, the focus of attention moved to mergers in the healthcare sector. After an introductory lecture explaining the theory of mergers, participants were asked to prepare presentations in small groups on the hospital merger case Hilversum and Gooi-Noord to act as either defendants or applicants. These presentations were consequently put before a 'court', that ruled on the basis of these presentations. This first two-day course will be followed by a more advanced, two-day course on 4 and 5 December. In this course, again taught by a team of senior TILEC researchers, additional attention will be given to regulating market power, and the role of the regulator in the healthcare sector.