Cost assessment and price setting of inpatient care in the Netherlands. The DBC case-mix system

In February 2005, a case-mix system based on ‘diagnosis treatment combinations’ (DBCs) was introduced in the Netherlands for the registration and reimbursement of hospital and medical specialist care. This paper describes the characteristics of the DBC system and how it is used for the reimbursement of hospitals. Prices for reimbursement are either based on fixed tariffs (‘list A’) or negotiated between health insurers and hospitals (‘list B’) and are partly based on information about unit costs of health care services. Because the DBC system is still under development we will describe the current situation (March 2006), but also focus on the most likely future developments.