Sustaining Medicare through consumer choice of health funds: lessons from the Netherlands

The current escalation in costs of Australia's health care system does not appear to be sustainable. Sustainable financing requires direct engagement of consumers - instead of the current political process driven by special interest groups, targeted at gaining a larger share of the federal and state governments' budgets. Reforms in the Netherlands, directed at achieving universal insurance with consumer choice of health fund, provide valuable lessons for Australia on how to design sustainable financing.