With a new manifesto initiative, ESHPM aims to contribute to a fundamental reflection on the future of the Dutch healthcare system. The public launch is scheduled for November 2026.
The Dutch healthcare system is under increasing pressure. Workforce shortages persist, health inequalities continue to widen, and the affordability and accessibility of care are coming under growing scrutiny. At the same time, tensions are mounting between public values, market mechanisms and the role of government.
More than twenty years ago, ESHPM published a manifesto that helped shape the debate on the organisation of the Dutch healthcare system. Since then, the healthcare landscape has changed significantly. Collaboration has become increasingly important alongside competition, the regional level has assumed a more prominent role in organisation and coordination, and issues such as prevention, workforce transformation and system resilience have become more central than ever.
Against this backdrop, ESHPM is launching a new manifesto initiative on the future of Dutch healthcare. Until November 2026, ESHPM professors and researchers will work on a fundamental reflection on themes including the organisation of the healthcare landscape, the limits of healthcare, workforce transformation, the resilience of the healthcare system, and the role of government.
The initiative brings together expertise from a range of disciplines, including health economics, governance, law, ethics, and the social and medical sciences. Throughout the process, ESHPM will actively engage with healthcare professionals, policymakers, patient representatives, healthcare providers, insurers, and other societal stakeholders.
The aim of the manifesto is not to offer quick fixes, but to contribute to a scientifically grounded and practice-oriented reflection on the structural choices facing Dutch healthcare.
Through this manifesto initiative, ESHPM seeks not only to foster academic reflection, but also to create space for a broader public and policy dialogue on the future of Dutch healthcare.
