Market failures result from asymmetric information between health insurers and care providers and between care providers and patients, creating scope for supplier-induced demand and up-coding (classifying patients into higher priced diagnostic codes). Empirical analysis suggests that no health care system performs systematically better in addressing these failures and delivering cost-effective health care (Joumard et al., The Netherlands has opted for a system of regulated competition and private insurance, with wide-ranging reforms implemented since the mid-2000s to reinforce the role of market mechanisms.