Health minister won’t ban private equity from Dutch care system

Health minister Fleur Agema has told the lower house of parliament that she does not support a ban on private equity in the Dutch healthcare system, as some MPs have demanded.

A ban on private investment would make financing some parts of the healthcare system more difficult and that could limit access to some care services, the minister said in answer to questions from MPs.

A blanket ban could also remove stimuli to innovate and better target the money that is available, she said, adding that there could also be “legal implications”.

Agema is a minister on behalf of the far-right PVV and some PVV parliamentarians have also questioned the current government line.

Agema did tell MPs that she opposes “excessive profit-taking” and wants to bring in guarantees that investors focus on delivering high-quality, accessible care services. This will involve tightening current legislation, she said.

The issue of private equity in healthcare is a hot topic in the Netherlands at the moment following the collapse of private family doctors’ chain Co-Med which served 50,000 patients. It went bust last month after insurers stopped working with it, saying they feared patients were not getting adequate access to doctors.