With the ever rising cost of of Swiss healthcare, the government has been hunting for savings. This week it announced that it has ordered price cuts on 350 medicines from 1 December 2023, reported RTS.
On average the drugs on the list will cost 10% less and deliver an overall expected saving of CHF 120 million a year. This comes out at around CHF 14 per resident, not a particularly significant sum when set against an average annual health insurance bill of around CHF 4,300.
The medicines on this year’s list are for treatments in the areas of gastroenterology, hormone therapy and oncology, among others. A full list of the drugs can be found here.
The price cuts are likely to lead to savings of an estimated 120 million francs, wrote the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).
From 1 December 2023, these drugs will become cheaper. However, according to FOPH, objections from drug companies are pending against some orders so it remains unclear whether these prices will all be reduced.
FOPH initiated a similar round of price cuts in 2022, which led to savings of CHF 80 million. Every year, the BAG checks a third of the medicines covered by basic insurance to see whether they are effective, useful and economical. Over the years, CHF 740 million has been saved.
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RTS article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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