LSE Health, LSE, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK.
Health Policy. 2012 Jul;106(2):127-37. doi: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2012.03.008. Epub 2012 Apr 12.
EU Health policy exemplifies the philosophical tension between EC economic freedoms and social policy. EC competition law, like other internal market rules, could restrict national health policy options despite the subsidiarity principle. In particular, European health system reforms that incorporate elements of market competition may trigger the application of competition rules if non-economic gains in consumer welfare are not adequately accounted for. This article defines the policy and legal parameters of the debate between competition law and health policy. Using a sample of cases it analyses how the ECJ, national courts, and National Competition Authorities have applied competition laws to the health services sector in different circumstances and in different ways. It concludes by considering the implications of the convergence of recent trends in competition law enforcement and health system market reforms.
欧盟卫生政策体现了欧共体经济自由与社会政策之间的哲学性紧张关系。尽管存在辅助原则，但欧共体竞争法与其他内部市场规则一样，可能会限制国家卫生政策的选择。具体而言，如果消费者福利的非经济收益没有得到充分考虑，纳入市场竞争要素的欧洲卫生系统改革可能会引发竞争规则的适用。本文界定了竞争法与卫生政策之间辩论的政策和法律参数。通过案例样本，分析了欧洲法院、国家法院和国家竞争管理机构在不同情况下以不同方式将竞争法适用于卫生服务部门的情况。最后，本文考虑了竞争法执行和卫生系统市场改革这两个最近趋势趋同的影响。
