[Public health in a new coalition agreement]

In drawing up a new coalition agreement in the Netherlands, public health and health care will be important issues. The government now has the opportunity, by planning well, to correct the negative image of public health care (expensive and inefficient) and to cope with major problems, such as long waiting lists and unequal access to care. Requirement are agreement on a realistic percentage of volume growth, based on demographic trends, good agreement on conditions of employment efficient use of funds which citizens can understand, limiting drug prices and outlining a health care system for the future that is transparent and universally accessible, with collective responsibilities clearly delineated. Furthermore research on public health and health care should be stimulated.