Healthcare systems - A new European model?

For almost 2 decades, the European nations have witnessed a continuous cycl e of healthcare reform policies. Although each of these efforts to craft ne w public policy has been tailored to fit the specific political, social and cultural circumstances of each country, there are many striking similariti es among these attempts to reduce costs while preserving the quality and eq uity of healthcare. Everywhere, market-oriented healthcare proposals and policies have been int roduced. But everywhere these have gone hand in hand with plainly anticompe titive mechanisms, which have brought the command-and-control structure of Europe's healthcare systems under even greater government control. Market m echanisms were introduced only as a means to limit costs, and not with the goal to empower patients. The goal has been to limit the economic growth of the healthcare sector by restricting consumption.