Cross-border healthcare collaborations in Europe (2007–2017): Moving towards a European Health Union?

Andrea E. Schmidt, Julia Bobek, Stefan Mathis-Edenhofer, Tanja Schwarz and Florian Bachner

Health Policy, 2022, vol. 126, issue 12, 1241-1247

Abstract: Cross-border health care (CBHC) collaborations, using EU funding, may represent a lever for local and regional policymakers by which to balance questions of access and quality of health care against economic concerns in health. An analysis of existing collaborations analyses CHBC against the three core dimensions of European Union health policy: fiscal policy, economic policy, or social cohesion policy. We carried out a literature review and a systematic analysis of online data bases on EU-funded CBHC collaborations for the period 2007–2017. Identified projects were classified as referring to CBHC as an element of either of the three dimensions. Out of 1167 identified projects, 423 EU-funded projects were selected. Projects not primarily concerned with economic concerns (internal market) and fiscal aspects predominate. Results indicate the importance of shared historical ties and geographical proximity for CBHC collaborations. Yet, they also show the need for further mixed methods research to investigate whether EU policies in health are more likely to be in line with the needs of policymakers in member states, if they focus on local and regional demands for high-quality, accessible health care rather than on internal market concerns or fiscal aspects.

Keywords: Cross-border healthcare; Accessibility; Quality of care; Regional policy; European integration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:hepoli:v:126:y:2022:i:12:p:1241-1247

DOI: 10.1016/j.healthpol.2022.10.011

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