The Effect of EU Membership on the Health Care Systems of Member Countries in Central and Eastern Europe
The Effect of EU Membership on the Health Care Systems of Member Countries in Central and Eastern Europe

Summary/Abstract: Health and health care provision are one of the most important topics in public policy, and often a highly debated topic in the political arena. The importance of considering European Union accession’s impact on the health care sector of new member countries is highlighted by studies showing that accession to the Union has significant impacts on the socio-economic indicators of the new members, while the impacts on the health care system are less known. This is particularly important for a Central and East European country such as Croatia, where a policy responsive government indicates a high level of quality of democracy (Roberts, 2009) and where issues in the health care system have been carried over from the previous regime. In this study, I summarize the current status of health care in the European Union and the reasons behind the failure to create a stronger legislative framework around health care issues and its consequences. I find that the absence of more meaningful hard laws has stimulated the creation of alternative soft law practices to harmonize health systems across the Union, with uncertainty about its impact on health outcomes in new member countries, including Croatia.

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