Health Policy Workshop "Prospects for curative mental health care"

Time: NOTE! 13.30-17.30 hours
Location: NOTE! Dutch Healthcare Authority, Newtonlaan 1-41, 3584 BX Utrecht

Speakers: Professor Tom McGuire, Harvard Medical School, USA, Prof. Edwin de Beurs, Leiden University, Femke van de Pol, Dutch Healthcare Authority and Prof. Philippe Delespaul, Maastricht University

Language: English

Registration required (also for CPB employees): until February 13th here

Workshop information: The Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB), The Dutch Healthcare Authority (NZa),  and the Tilburg Law and Economics Center of Tilburg University (TILEC) jointly organize a series of 'Health Policy Workshops'. These workshops cover relevant and highly debated topics in health care, and provide a platform for knowledge exchange and discussion between policy makers and researchers working in this field. This 8th workshop is partly sponsored by Erasmus University Rotterdam (iBMG).

In 2008, the Dutch government decided to include curative mental health care into the new health care system with regulated competition and performance based funding. The goal of this reform was to improve efficiency and client orientation in the mental health care sector. After almost eight years, it is time to decide whether this policy has been a success. Moreover, what are the challenges for the next eight years given the Dutch health care system.

Several questions will be discussed during the workshop:

• What are the pros and cons of including mental health care in a system of regulated competition?
• Did health insurers take up their role of stimulating mental health providers to become more efficient and demand oriented?
• What policies should be considered to increase efficiency in curative mental health?
• What are good instruments for the government to control costs and improve quality?