The Europeanization of Health Care Coverage Decisions: EU-Regulation, Policy Learning and Cooperation in Decision-Making

Abstract:

The paper presents two cases of Europeanization in health policy – an area that has so far been viewed as hardly affected by European integration. We show that even in the less likely case of coverage decision-making, some traces of Europeanization can be found. This is possible because the Commission has a strong interest in further integration in this field and all other relevant actors have motives to at least engage in cooperation.

Our first case deals with the EU’s transparency directive and shows that this has forced member states to establish formal decision-making procedures, but did not result in a harmonization of decision-making processes and institutions, which is why the Commission has fostered cooperation and networking. The second case looks at the Europeanization of health technology assessment, demonstrating how cooperation and policy learning take place and how the Commission has successfully promoted the emergence of a new policy field.