Introduction

Abstract

The book consists of five parts. Part I is entitled ‘Foundations’ and the chapters discuss a fundamental issue of health care: what is its place in the European integration process? Part II addresses patient mobility. How did the ECJ foster patient mobility in applying the Treaty provisions on free movement? What is the added value of the proposed Directive on Patients’ rights? In this Part not only general issues but also the specific consequences of EU internal market law for one particular Member State (UK) will be discussed. In Part III attention is paid to competition issues. This part of the book explores the consequences of the Treaty provisions on competition and state aid for national health care. To complement the second part the affect of EU competition law is explored in two Member States (Germany and The Netherlands). Competition is at the heart of the US health care system and important enough to devote at least one chapter to the role competition plays in a ‘foreign’ developed economy, to discover whether new lessons could be learnt. Part IV addresses further issues of raised by the application of economic rules to the health care sector. This part of the book explores how the ECJ is increasingly applying the Treaty provisions beyond the scope of patient mobility and discusses the way EU public procurement law deals with health care cases. Increasingly health care shows that it no longer respects national borders designed to promote solidarity amongst citizens. As health care costs rise, and national provision of expensive or unusual health treatments is rationed patients may seek treatment in low-cost countries in, for example, Central and South America or Asia. It seems appropriate to include a chapter on how WTO law may affect patient mobility. Part V contains a synthesis of the chapters, drawing conclusions and pointing to how future application of economic law may affect the direction of health care provision in the EU.