The Dunning Funnel criteria for the health basket

The basic benefit package: Composition and exceptions to the rules. A case study

In the Netherlands there are four criteria to assess any benefit to be included in the health basket:

1. Care should be essential: Does the illness, disability or the care needed justify a claim on solidarity within the existing cultural context?
2. Effectiveness: Does the intervention do what it is expected to do? In other words: it is proven to be effective and evidence based.
3. Cost-effectiveness: Is the ratio between the cost of the intervention and the outcome
acceptable?
4. Feasibility: Is it feasible to include the intervention in the basic package, now and in the future?

This is known as the funnel originated by a commission report chaired by Mr. Dunning in 1991. The application of such criteria has been evolving and a recent article says that some benefits have followed a yo-yo effect, being in and out of the package for unspecified reasons. I think that it is better to have some clear principles and justify its application, than not having any.
Here we have some principles, sometimes we change them, sometimes we assess them, sometimes not and nobody knows why.

PS. The Irish  have made a recent effort of definition in this report.