It has been a long break since the last update, due to a fantastic summer vacation by train in Scandinavia. Due to the long break since the previous, some of the news is somewhat stale, but hopefully still of interest. In this update we cover:

• More M&A activity in the Dutch healthcare sector but less Private Equity. What is going on?
• Lower investments in healthcare real estate. What has happened to foreign investors?
• Move towards complex elderly care in a home setting. Is the trend gaining ground?

Summer is in full swing here, with a string of hot days behind us—just like much of Europe. The season’s slower pace is setting in: people are harder to reach, and the world seems to be winding down. I’ll be joining the holiday crowd at the end of this week, so there won’t be any new updates until August. Still, even with the summer lull, there’s plenty happening in Dutch healthcare. In this update:

• Strong financial results for the elderly care sector in 2024—what’s behind the improvement?
• The Netherlands lags in patient access to medical data—what’s holding us back?
• A flurry of M&A activity as the sector heads into summer—what’s driving the deals?

Summer has definitely arrived. We have had a number of days with pleasant weather and the weather last weekend was scorching. This meant that it was hard work on Saturday to help my eldest daughter and partner with moving house. As always, there is news from the Dutch healthcare sector. In this update we cover:

• Cofinimmo and Aedefica to merge. What are the consequences for the Dutch healthcare sector?
• Bergman and Equipe expand. What does this say about political risks in the Dutch healthcare market?
• IZA, WOZO, ASWA, HLO. What is going on?
• Majority in Parliament for less “commercial activities” in the primary care sector. What are consequences for the further development of primary care?

After a period of cold and wet weather we finally had a nice weekend that was perfect for sailing and a picnic. Unfortunately, the news from the healthcare sector is less positive. In this update we cover:

• Unwelcome news for Evidensia. Will veterinary care in the Netherlands turn out to be a good investment?
• Programs to limits growth in the costs of the Dutch healthcare sector in problems. What is happening?
• Increasing populistic demands in Parliament for making commercial healthcare more difficult. What are the risks for commercial healthcare providers?

There have been a lot of celebrations in the Netherlands these last few eeks. First, we had King’s Day, which is in celebration of the Dutch King’s birthday, but is also an unofficial national day. Then there was 4 May (Remembrance Day commemorating all Dutch civilians and members of the armed forces who have died in wars or peacekeeping missions since the outbreak of World War II) and 5 May to celebrate the 80^th anniversary of the end of WWII. All the celebrations were helped by the excellent weather we had. In spite of the celebrations and nice weather there is still news to report. In this update we cover:

• Continued increase in number of users of social services. Will increasing the costs of the user change the trend?
• Critical article on substandard quality and inflated costs in commercial elderly care. How negative is this for the sector?
• Growing need for hospices. Is this an investment opportunity?

We enjoyed the fantastic weather last week, and I hope that you have had the same. Even with beautiful weather there is still news to report. In this update we cover:

• Physiotherapy will not be moved to basic healthcare insurance. What are the consequences?
• Arts en Zorg gets contract with national police, but also faces headwinds. What is the good news / bad news?
• “M&A flood” expected in the Dutch healthcare sector after decision to close ACM department. Is this realistic?

It has been fairly quiet on the healthcare front these last few weeks due to Easter, public holidays, and school vacations. However, there is still news to report. In this update we cover:

• Acquisition in the cosmetic treatments sector. Can more consolidation be expected?
• Government proposals to improve disability insurance meets resistance. What are the most likely outcomes?
• Acquisition in the maternity care sector. Who is the entrant in the sector?
• The Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets to reduce its supervision of the healthcare sector. What are the likely consequences?

Last week I spent three days in Paris visiting the HBI conference. As always, a very good mixture of relevant content, an opportunity to meet old friends and to get to know more interesting people. It was also nice to interact with many of the readers of these updates, Due to the conference, the update has been delayed one week, which means that there is a fair amount of news to report:

• Bergman Clinic is making a new acquisition. Is the relationship with ACM and NZA improved?
• Co-payments for social care are to be increased. What will be the consequences for demand?
• Hospital staff get 8% higher salaries. How will hospitals finance this?
• The Ministry makes a choice for a country-wide data exchange system. What are the next steps?
• Report from Deloitte highlights reduction in healthcare related M&A activity. Will it pick up again?

Spring has arrived. As I am writing this, we are having consecutive beautiful days with sunshine and warmth. With spring, comes more news related to the Dutch healthcare sector:

• Report highlights that commercial nursing home operators provide high quality care. What are the main conclusions?
• Minister reiterates refusal to forbid private equity investments in the healthcare sector. What is the story?
• Bergman Clinics is making a new acquisition. Can Bergman continue growing in the Netherlands though acquisitions?
• Arts en Zorg grows its primary care activities. What will be the company’s next steps?
• Chipsoft is launching partner for Microsoft’s healthcare focused AI-platform. What will be the impact on Chipsoft’s market position?

We have actually had winter these last few weeks, with very cold nights and beautiful days with sunshine. A great change from the previous weeks, but the forecast is that it will change. As always, there is a lot of news to report regarding the Dutch healthcare sector:

• McKinsey report highlights the opportunities for productivity gains through digital transformation in the Dutch healthcare sector. What are the next steps?
• Intensified supervision for major healthcare insurance company. What are the key reasons?
• In a snapshot we give an overview of Flexdokters, a provider of modern primary care

The weather here in the Netherlands has been relentlessly cold and gray for the last few weeks. It is not really winter (at least from a Norwegian perspective), but there is no other alternative name for it either. It does appear that everybody has woken up after their two-week Christmas break, and there is a lot of news to report regarding the Dutch healthcare sector:

• Continued tightening of rules and regulations for the healthcare sector. What are the consequences for international investors?
• Healthcare insurance company to help GPs start new practices in areas with insufficient primary care coverage. What are their plans?
• Progress being made in implementing improvements to Dutch system for long-term work-related disabilities. What are the current plans?
• Municipalities reenter process to structurally improve Dutch healthcare. What has happened?
• Dutch competition authority increases focus on healthcare sector. What are ongoing focus areas?

January is almost at its end and those of us doing Dry January are looking forward to the first beer (IPA I think) in a month. As always there is news to report from the Dutch healthcare sector.

• Continuing consolidation of the physiotherapy sector. Who will be the next target?
• Many patients have long waits before getting an appointment with their GPs. Can this be improved?
• The Ministry has chosen three key suppliers of patient portal solutions. What will happen to the other providers?
• Overview of promising Dutch healthcare start-up - MyTomorrows, a company helping patients and physicians find and access clinical trials.

I hope that you have had a good start to the new year. Here in the Netherlands the country basically shut down for two weeks from 23 December to 6 January, but there is still news to report from the Dutch healthcare sector.

• Investments in healthcare real estate increased from 2023 to 2024. What are ongoing challenges?
• JHB Zorg is allowed to acquire three home care companies. What are further plans?
• New three-year contract between healthcare insurance company and Equipe. What are the consequences for hospitals?
• Current financing structures make investments in technology for elderly care difficult. What are the key issues?

This will be the last update for 2024 as I will be off for a couple of weeks celebrating Christmas and New Year with family and friends. Best wishes to you and your family. The whole country seems to be slowing down in preparation for the holidays to come, but there is still news to report from the Dutch healthcare sector:

• Costs for many healthcare providers will increase in January. What are the reasons?
• Major program to reform the Dutch healthcare sector is not going well. What are the problems?
• Overview of promising Dutch healthcare start-up: Kepler Vision Technologies, a developer of fall detection products for the elderly care sector

In a few days, the Dutch will be celebrating Sinterklaas. As you can guess from the name there is a link to Santa Claus (explained in this Wikipedia article). The Dutch celebration is before Christmas, but also involves exchange of gifts. In the last few years Sinterklaas has become politically sensitive due to his helpers who were traditionally portrayed in blackface. Even though the country is entering a festive mode, there is still news to report from the Dutch healthcare sector. This update covers the following news items:

• Large real estate investment in senior living concept. What are the details?
• New competitor to ZorgDomein. What are the chances that they will be successful?
• Disabled care providers forced to postpone investments. What are the reasons?