It's only that a decade or two ago when Dutch tourists who fell ill while vacationing in Spain would try to get themselves repatriated as quickly as possible. Now, Dutch people are going to Spain for treatment as the domestic health care system is getting ever worse and mired in red tape. Tales of woe ricochet from one to the next; there's the story of the man diagnosed with intestinal cancer who had to wait for four months to be operated on, and another four months to get radiotherapy.

But the latest tale in the Dutch press concerns a woman suffering from a disease called amyloidosis which eats away at the heart and liver. Now, having come to the conclusion that treatment in Holland was not possible, there was the possibility getting a heart and liver transplant in Britain, a lifesaving operation in this case. Except she could not get an E112 form. Without an E112 form, the Brits won't operate. I am not clear on what the E112 form does, but apparently she was ineligible for one of those, as she had "private" health insurance. The Dutch version of private health insurance is not what you think it might be; you're still reliant on the state system for treatment, except you pay your premium to a private health insurer instead of the state system. Above a certain income level (around $30,000), this is your only choice. The difference between the "state" and "private" systems is minimal, since all patients end up in the same hospitals with the same doctors. Truly private health care is still far away. And as with any system where the price mechanism has been abolished, the way to get faster service is through under-the-counter transactions, by pulling strings, relying on networks of friendly doctors and trying to find any angle to jump ahead in the waiting list. Those who happen to know the right people will get treated sooner than others. Behold the "fairness" of socialized medicine.

Now that the story has hit the press, suddenly treatment options in Holland may be available after all. Oh well... and the Belgians have offered treatment too now. Amazing.