Election Debate "Caring for a Healthy Society"
November 14, 2023, Social Impact Factory Vredenburg
On November 14, 2023, Van Hier Naar [...] organized, in collaboration with The New Utrecht School, Optimale Zorg - Dappere Dokters, Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde, and Dokters in Debat, the successful election debate "Caring for a Healthy Society."
During the 2023 parliamentary elections, there was truly something to choose: new parties, new faces, and new plans. And that is necessary: the combination of an aging population, chronic diseases, and expensive treatment options puts the financial and personnel sustainability of healthcare under great pressure. We now need sharp political choices to keep healthcare accessible, affordable, and of high quality. Are the parties willing to make these—sometimes unpopular—choices? Should we spend more money on healthcare or reimburse less care? What are the parties doing about prevention? And what do the parties think about health disparities in society?
Eight parties sent candidates with strong healthcare expertise (in order of size in the final election results):
- Fleur Agema (#2 PVV)
- Mohammed Mohandis (#14 GL-PvdA)
- Judith Tielen (#16 VVD)
- Ria de Korte (#28 NSC)
- Wieke Paulusma (#7 D66)
- Nicki Pouw-Verweij (#9 BBB)
- Jimmy Dijk (#4 SP)
- Bart Salemans (#23 PvdD)
The parties debated the following three propositions:
- Affordability: "The healthcare deductible should be abolished."
- Health Inequality: "To reduce health inequalities, income and wealth disparities should be reduced."
- Prevention: "The government should encourage a healthy lifestyle by increasing taxes on unhealthy food."
The debate was also available via a livestream and can be rewatched on Youtube.