A model for the Dutch healthcare sector

This model serves two purposes. First, it must be able to forecast medium-term developments in the volume and costs of the consumption of health care services. Second, it must be able to analyze the volume and financial effects of actual and proposed policy changes. This working paper discusses a model for patient behavior, a model for physician behavior (including general practitioners, medical specialists, dentists and physiotherapists), a model of hospital managers, and a model of institutions that provide care for the elderly (including homes for the elderly and nursing homes). It focuses on the market for healthcare services - the place where supply meets the demand for medical services. The markets for health care insurance - both between insurance providers and consumers and between insurance providers and health care providers - are not modelled in this working paper.