Hospital turnover on treatments for which they set their own fees rose by 13% last year to €4.1bn, according to research into hospital performances by Gupta Strategists, quoted in the Financieele Dagblad.

By contrast, turnover on treatment which is priced by the government rose 3.1%, the research showed.
At the same time, prices for treatment in the liberalised sector fell 3%, meaning that the increase in turnover comes from more treatment being carried out.
Free prices
At the moment, hospitals are allowed to set their own prices for some 30% of treatments, but that will go up to 70% next year. Health minister Edith Schippers hopes this will increase competition between hospitals and lead to lower prices.
However, Gupta Strategists says it is important to find out the reason for the difference in performance between the two sectors last year as quickly as possible.
While the greying population and medical trends could make particular treatments more popular, hospitals could also be cashing in on the liberalised fee structure, the consultancy says.