By Marco Varkevisser & Erik Schut –
In this article, we discuss the track record of the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets in hospital merger control. Due to the permissive approach that can be observed for more than a decade, Dutch hospital markets have become highly concentrated. This has at least put the potential for effective insurer-hospital negotiations about quality and price at risk. While the first prohibition of a hospital merger in the summer of 2015 definitely was a step in the right direction, it may turn out that the barn was closed after the horse has bolted.
