Pragmatism is beginning to trump ideology in Europe’s ‘public-private’ debate over healthcare

The merits of public vs private healthcare have traditionally formed one of the key ideological divisions between European political parties. Richard B. Saltman writes that while this debate has often been exceptionally heated, over the last few decades a number of European countries have started to take a more pragmatic approach in terms of both the use of private healthcare and the operating philosophy adopted in public hospitals. Although the public-private debate is unlikely to ever disappear entirely, these trends and the pressures of prolonged austerity have steadily reduced its relevance to actual service delivery.