Reactions to the premium hike "The healthcare system has become a cartel"

Health insurance premiums will rise by an average of six percent next year. Families in particular will suffer. Reactions from politicians and associations.

Health insurance premiums will rise by an average of six percent in 2025. The average monthly premium will be CHF 378.70. This shocks many. The first reactions from politicians and associations:

The Swiss Medical Association:

The Swiss Medical Association (FMH) regrets the increase in health insurance premiums. This is not necessary. Reforms already in place could curb the rise in premiums.

Uniform financing of healthcare services could strengthen outpatient medicine and nursing care. It would also promote coordination in the healthcare system and reduce the burden on premium payers, the FMH announced on Thursday. This would require the Swiss electorate to approve the corresponding amendment to the Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG) in November.

On the other hand, the revision of outpatient tariffs would enable appropriate and updated pricing, it added.

The health insurance association Santésuisse:

The health insurance association Santésuisse is calling for cost-cutting measures. These are urgently needed to avoid further sharp increases in premiums, the industry association announced on Thursday.

"The premium increase of six percent is very painful for the insured, which is why it is very important to introduce cost-cutting measures immediately, such as reducing the prices of medicines and laboratory analyses and supra-regional hospital planning," said Verena Nold, Director of Santésuisse, when asked by the Keystone-SDA news agency.

Furthermore, the role of the cantons in the healthcare system should be disentangled, bureaucracy reduced and the expansion of the benefits catalog in basic insurance stopped, she said.

Consumer protection:

The Foundation for Consumer Protection sees rising health insurance premiums as a huge burden for lower and middle-income households. The new prices would result in a health risk, as more and more people would forego necessary medical treatment for financial reasons.

In 2023, this would be the case for a fifth of the Swiss population, Consumer Protection told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Thursday. This is an indictment of a prosperous country like Switzerland.

Consumer protection is urgently calling on the Federal Council and Parliament to take action. Measures such as a reference price system for generics, higher premium reductions and independent checks against incorrect hospital and doctor's bills could curb costs.

According to consumer protection, the only option left to consumers is to change their insurance model or health insurance company in order to save money.

Comparis wants more scope for alternative insurance models:

The online comparison service Comparis is calling on parliament to provide more leeway for alternative insurance models. It is important that health insurance companies and medical service providers have more options in the Health Insurance Act.

"This third premium shock in a row is causing financial difficulties for many insured persons. This is particularly true for families who have not previously received an individual premium reduction", Comparis health insurance expert Felix Schneuwly was quoted as saying in a press release on Thursday. Mortgage interest rates, rents, energy and food prices have also risen in recent years.

GDK President Engelberger backs supra-regional hospital planning:

Lukas Engelberger (center), President of the Conference of Cantonal Health Directors, believes that all players in the healthcare sector have a duty to take cost-containment measures. He describes the regulation on the uniform financing of outpatient and inpatient services, which will be put to the vote on November 24, as a major step forward.

Engelberger is pragmatic about the 6 percent increase in premiums throughout Switzerland. In principle, the development of premiums follows the development of costs, the Basel Health Director told the Keystone-SDA news agency after the figures were announced on Thursday. "In order to reduce the premium burden, cost growth must therefore also be contained."

In addition, a large part of the increase is due to factors that cannot be influenced by health policy, Engelberger continued. These include demographic trends, general inflation, the increased costs incurred by service providers due to the shortage of skilled workers and the switching behavior of insured persons.

Engelberger described the upcoming vote on the regulation of uniform funding for outpatient and inpatient services, which the cantons support, as an opportunity to contain healthcare costs. "Among other things, uniform financing would remove obstacles to the cost-reducing shift from inpatient to outpatient care."

Engelberger believes that the cantons are still in the right hands when it comes to hospital planning, which in some cases drives up costs. The federal government lacks proximity to the care process. However, cooperation across cantonal borders could still be expanded.

The center is calling for effective reforms:

The center is concerned about the rise in health insurance premiums. The middle classes and families are already suffering from rising premiums and the cost of living. Action must now be taken.

The party has summarized its demands and measures in a health manifesto, the party announced on X. "The healthcare system has become a cartel in which the players cover for each other and prevent cost savings," party president Gerhard Pfister was quoted as saying in the press release. It is high time for effective reforms.

Costs were exploding because the healthcare system was incapable of reforming itself.

SP and Greens want fairer financing of health insurance:

The SP is shocked by the latest increase in health insurance premiums. For the Social Democrats, it is clear that premiums must be capped and financed on a more solidary basis in order to protect the purchasing power of people in Switzerland. The Greens want the immediate introduction of health insurance premiums based on income and assets.

More and more people are getting into financial difficulties, the SP announced on Thursday. In the last 20 years, premiums have more than doubled, while wages and pensions have barely risen. Parliament should no longer look the other way.

The population is paying at the expense of the insurance and pharmaceutical industries, it continued. The latter is resisting the cost reductions in the healthcare system. The center-right majority in the Council of States is acting as a stooge for the insurance and pharmaceutical lobby, the SP continued.

With the Weichelt motion, the Greens are calling for the introduction of income- and wealth-based health insurance premiums, as the party announced. This would eliminate the unfair system of per capita premiums. One example of this is accident insurance, which is already linked to wages.

Swiss hospitals call for immediate reforms:

The Hospitals of Switzerland (H+) note the premium increase for 2025 with concern. The financial situation of hospitals and clinics is steadily deteriorating, which is why effective and immediate reforms are necessary. This was announced by the association on Thursday.

Without fair financing with cost-covering tariffs, hospitals would not be able to maintain their usual range of services, the association wrote. An important factor in slowing down cost growth is the promotion of outpatient care. Due to financial disincentives, the number of outpatient procedures in Switzerland is still too low. According to H+, the existing savings potential is not being exploited.

FDP wants to strengthen alternative insurance models

With the uniform financing of outpatient and inpatient services, the FDP wants to replace unnecessary hospital stays with modern outpatient interventions. This would lead to a reduction in healthcare costs of CHF 440 million per year.

The FDP has adopted a catalog with numerous measures for high-quality, digitalized and affordable healthcare in the long term, the party announced on Thursday. The personal responsibility of citizens should not always be undermined by new regulations and nationalization.

The healthcare system should reward quality and avoid unnecessary interventions, it continued. Redistributing money, as the SP, SVP and trade unions want, is harmful for all taxpayers.