According to the newspaper Le Matin Swiss health insurance premiums could rise by 7% to 9%, reported RTS.
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The future rise in the cost of health insurance is estimated based on data on the rising healthcare costs being passed on to health insurance companies. According to the data, costs rose during the second half of 2021. Across all of 2021 costs were up by 5.1% and the trend appears to have continued.
Several politicians interviewed on the subject of rising costs agreed that the estimates were not exaggerated. A spokesperson from Sante Suisse, a health insurance association, said that it was very concerned about a sharp rise in premiums in 2023.
In Switzerland, every resident must take out basic health insurance coverage. Those who don’t are signed up by local government and sent a bill. The money paid by patients and insurance companies covers only a portion of healthcare costs. The rest is funded from general taxes collected at the cantonal level.
The number of healthcare workers in Switzerland has been rising sharply. Between 2010 and 2020, the number of doctors per 1,000 residents rose by 16% and the number of nurses rose by 23%, according to OECD data. In 2020, Switzerland had 18 nurses per 1,000 residents. Only Norway (80.1 per 1,000) had more. In 2020, with 4.4 doctors per 1,000 residents Switzerland came fifth, behind Germany (4.5), Lithuania (4.6), Norway (5.1) and Austria (5.6).
In November 2021, a majority (61%) voted in favour of improving the working conditions of nurses. Ahead of this vote the Federal Council warned that acceptance of the initiative would threaten its efforts to control rising costs in the health sector.
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