Hospitals demand political action against profit-driven private clinics

Hospitals are urging political authorities to regulate private clinics, some of which, the Dutch Association of Hospitals (NVZ) says, prioritize profit and output while promoting themselves through aggressive media campaigns.

According to the organization, independent clinics are “driven by private equity and shareholders on the stock market.” The revenue of these institutions is said to have increased by 70 percent in recent years. As a result, “public healthcare funds are flowing away, also to foreign shareholders.” The NVZ calls this unacceptable.

The NVZ argues that hospitals face unequal competition with private clinics. While hospitals must provide intensive care, emergency services, and acute obstetrics, private clinics can concentrate on simpler, low-complexity procedures. Yet hospitals rely on the income from these less complex services to remain operational. “Hospitals cannot survive on high-complexity and emergency care alone,” the NVZ emphasizes.

Private clinics reportedly attract hospital staff by offering more favorable conditions, such as daytime-only shifts. According to the NVZ, they “market themselves as appealing employers, with organized work, comfortable hours, and often higher pay than the hospital labor agreement.” This trend is said to worsen staff shortages, increase workloads, and lengthen waiting lists in hospitals.

Hospitals are calling on politicians to establish “fair financing” and impose restrictions on private investors, including private equity firms.