The regional elections of 2009 should be a turning point. Due to the economic crisis, the budgetary crisis and the institutional crisis, Belgian’s regions are faced with new responsibilities.

Since 2006 all Dutch citizens have to buy standardized individual health insurance coverage from a private insurer. Consumers have an annual choice among insurers, and insurers can selectively contract or integrate with health care providers. Subsidies make health insurance affordable for everyone.

Belgium’s budgetary policy is again crumbling across the board. Marc De Vos and Brieuc Van Damme point out that healthcare policy has been dominated by budgetary concerns for years.

Even before the crisis, we knew that the next generations would have to pay for the financing of our pensions and health care. But on top of this big challenge, we are facing a deep crisis today. Many call for a so-called “deficit-spending”.

In many countries a healthy lifestyle is expected to become a criterion in obtaining healthcare services.

We have recently received an avalanche of reports which all give recommendations to prevent the repetition of this financial crisis. In this paper, we add a number of remarks which according to us deserve to be included in the debate.