Trust in times of health reform

Abstract

Trust is seen as an important condition for the smooth functioning of institutions, such as the health care system. In this article we describe the trust relationships between the three main actors in the Dutch health care system: patients/insured, healthcare providers and insurers. We used data from different surveys between 2006 and 2016. 2006 was the year of the introduction of an insurance reform in the Netherlands towards regulated competition. In the triangle of trust relationships between the three actors we found strong and mutual trust relationships between patients and healthcare providers and weak trust relationships between healthcare providers and insurers as well as between insured and insurance organisations. This hampers the intended role of insurers as selective purchasers of health care on the basis of quality and price.

Keywords: Insurers; Patients; Providers; Public trust; The Netherlands.