Healthcare dominates the campaign — but how did the parties vote on it?

It is not the housing market or asylum, but healthcare that has dominated the election campaign in recent days. High healthcare costs are at the center of debates. The costs of the basic health insurance package rose by more than 7% last year. Innovation can help keep healthcare affordable and efficient. However, as Carmen van Vilsteren, figurehead of the Top Sector Life Sciences & Health, emphasizes: “The Netherlands lacks the capital for innovative start-ups to grow. I hope that the new government will pay more attention to this.” IO+ spoke with Van Vilsteren and also investigated how parties voted on innovation in healthcare.

Healthcare is currently high on the political agenda in the Netherlands. “We are lowering the deductible to €200, so that healthcare becomes affordable for everyone again,” says FvD. “Healthcare is not a market. We should not leave what belongs to all of us to commercial cowboys,” says the SP.

Innovation can make healthcare affordable and more efficient. Numerous medtech innovations are being developed in the Netherlands. Cradle Bio, focused on AI-driven protein engineering, Salvia BioElectronics, which develops neuromodulation implants for chronic migraine, we have gems within our borders, according to Van Vilsteren. It is estimated that there are approximately 2,000 to 4,000 medtech companies active in the Netherlands. “The Netherlands is incredibly innovative, with many new ideas, startups, and pilots in the field of (image-guided) therapy, advanced ultrasound applications, and smart sensing and monitoring.”

The Hague Innovation Check

There is no doubt that healthcare is receiving attention in the parties' election programs. But how did they vote in the House during the last term of office? For our research, we looked at votes during the last term of office (from July 2, 2024, to June 3, 2025), including motions, amendments, and legislation. A pro-innovation score was calculated for each political group by weighing the votes and the sentiment of the motions against each other.

We looked not only at votes on innovation in healthcare, but also at life sciences in general: healthcare and agriculture. We examined voting behavior on new technologies—such as cancer therapies, care robots, and agricultural drones—but also innovations in policy and management, such as motions for better regulation or more attention to women's health. DENK and SP share first place (89.9%), while FvD scored lowest (31%).

Innovation in agriculture

First of all: innovation in agriculture. A number of votes were taken on this subject. For example, the SP supported a motion on chain agreements to guarantee the sale of protein crops and strengthen the revenue model. The PVV and BBB, among others, voted against it.

DENK also pays attention to innovation in agriculture in its election program. They write: “Proven and effective innovations in agriculture that lead to greening must be supported.”

In its election program, the SP mentions an Innovation Act that aims to stimulate innovation across the board, including in the agricultural sector. The party writes: “We are committed to research, education and vocational training, AI, automation, and robotization for heavy and repetitive work.”

Innovation in healthcare

The majority of the votes we analyzed concerned healthcare. For example, there was a vote on a motion by member Kostić, who called for the Netherlands to play a pioneering role in the development of animal-free innovations. The vote shows that parties such as the SP and DENK supported this call.

What is striking is that all parties seem to be in favor of AI in healthcare. For example, there was unanimous support for a motion by members Slagt-Tichelman and Westerveld, which calls for a pilot project for the use of AI in research into breast cancer in women with dense glandular tissue.

AI in healthcare: booming

AI in healthcare is booming anyway, Van Vilsteren also notes. Many AI startups are sprouting up in medical technology, and the government is paying attention: Voice-controlled reporting and capacity planning are being prioritized in the new VWS program Realization of AI in Healthcare. “Dutch companies such as Transcriber, for example, are already focusing on AI speech recognition. In addition, many hospitals have started working individually on capacity planning, for example to prevent no-shows. It is good that this is now being tackled jointly. I hope this will be done in collaboration with companies that can make these solutions scalable.”

Time for upscaling

There is no shortage of ideas and talent in the Netherlands, according to Van Vilsteren. Where things often go wrong in the Netherlands is in upscaling — including in the life sciences.

The Dutch Startups Report shows that there is room for improvement in venture capital investments. In the third quarter of this year, 79 investments were made in the Netherlands — the lowest number since 2020. This is despite the fact that the number of VC investments in Europe remained stable.

According to Van Vilsteren, a new government would do well to invest more capital in scaling up. “There is much less money available for medtech than in the US, for example. As a result, some ambitious companies quickly grow to rounds A and B and often seek American investors. This problem is broader than just medtech,” says Van Vilsteren. “I hope that more attention will be paid to this in the coming term of office.”