Modernising Social Services in the Single Market: Putting the Market into the Social

This paper takes the UK reform and modernisation of health care as a case study to examine how far Member States must pay attention to EU economic law in the reform of public services (SGEI) to modernise such services in the interest of cutting back on public expenditure and introducing efficiency and competition in their supply. This case study is relevant both for Member States (directly) running a national health system (like the UK) and those relying on private medical provision totally or partially funded through insurance mechanisms (such as the Netherlands), since it ultimately reflects on the impact that market competition can have in the effective provision of health care as an SGEI.