Could Switzerland ever change to state-run health insurance scheme?
In view of high — and still increasing — health insurance premiums in Switzerland, there is growing public support for a government run single health insurance scheme. But could such a system be implemented in Switzerland?
Unlike is the case elsewhere in Europe, the Swiss healthcare system is fundamentally different in that it is not tax-based or financed by employers, but rather by individuals themselves.
Every resident must have a basic health insurance coverage — KVG in German, and LaMal in French and Italian — purchasing it from one of about 60 private carriers.
The government’s only role is to ensure that all insurance companies offer the same basic coverage to everyone and that they have the same pricing.
READ ALSO: How is Swiss healthcare system different from the rest of Europe?
Calls for change
In view of very high health insurance premiums, which will increase further in 2024, the left-wing Social Democratic Party is calling for a new system that would scrap multiple private carriers in favour of just one public insurance provider: the government.
The reason for this radical change is that “with a single player, it will be easier to maintain decent prices,” according to MP Baptiste Hurni, who is behind this proposal.
He also points out that just one public insurance provider will be more easily controlled than dozens of private companies and “will prevent abuse at each stage of the system.”
Hurni proposes that each canton, rather than the federal government, creates its own insurance company for its residents.
Idea is winning support
The movement has been gaining momentum, as indicated by a new survey conducted by the Basel Center for Health Economics (BCHE) that was published in January 2024.
Based on this opinion poll, 68 percent of Switzerland’s population would like the current system to be replaced by a single health insurer, even though in two previous referendums, voters rejected this notion, believing that a private insurance system offers more choices and provides a higher quality of services —including better access to specialists and shorter wait times for medical procedures — than a public option.
Now, however, “it seems that many people are no longer convinced that competition [in this regard] is beneficial,” the survey found.
Could this idea win the favour of Switzerland’s population?
If enough signatures are collected to bring this proposal to the ballot box, Swiss citizens would have the last word.
But based on a similar referendum in 2014, the success of this measure doesn’t seem guaranteed.
At that time, 62 percent of voters said ‘no’ to the plan, also brought forth by Social Democrats.
Seven years prior, in 2007, 71 percent rejected similar reforms.
In both these instances, those opposing the change argued that a private insurance system offers more choices and provides a higher quality of services —including better access to specialists and shorter wait times for medical procedures — than a public option.
They also say higher premiums are inevitable given an ageing population, and claim that shifting to a public system would generate few savings.
Comments
See Also
Unlike is the case elsewhere in Europe, the Swiss healthcare system is fundamentally different in that it is not tax-based or financed by employers, but rather by individuals themselves.
Every resident must have a basic health insurance coverage — KVG in German, and LaMal in French and Italian — purchasing it from one of about 60 private carriers.
The government’s only role is to ensure that all insurance companies offer the same basic coverage to everyone and that they have the same pricing.
READ ALSO: How is Swiss healthcare system different from the rest of Europe?
Calls for change
In view of very high health insurance premiums, which will increase further in 2024, the left-wing Social Democratic Party is calling for a new system that would scrap multiple private carriers in favour of just one public insurance provider: the government.
The reason for this radical change is that “with a single player, it will be easier to maintain decent prices,” according to MP Baptiste Hurni, who is behind this proposal.
He also points out that just one public insurance provider will be more easily controlled than dozens of private companies and “will prevent abuse at each stage of the system.”
Hurni proposes that each canton, rather than the federal government, creates its own insurance company for its residents.
Idea is winning support
The movement has been gaining momentum, as indicated by a new survey conducted by the Basel Center for Health Economics (BCHE) that was published in January 2024.
Based on this opinion poll, 68 percent of Switzerland’s population would like the current system to be replaced by a single health insurer, even though in two previous referendums, voters rejected this notion, believing that a private insurance system offers more choices and provides a higher quality of services —including better access to specialists and shorter wait times for medical procedures — than a public option.
Now, however, “it seems that many people are no longer convinced that competition [in this regard] is beneficial,” the survey found.
Could this idea win the favour of Switzerland’s population?
If enough signatures are collected to bring this proposal to the ballot box, Swiss citizens would have the last word.
But based on a similar referendum in 2014, the success of this measure doesn’t seem guaranteed.
At that time, 62 percent of voters said ‘no’ to the plan, also brought forth by Social Democrats.
Seven years prior, in 2007, 71 percent rejected similar reforms.
In both these instances, those opposing the change argued that a private insurance system offers more choices and provides a higher quality of services —including better access to specialists and shorter wait times for medical procedures — than a public option.
They also say higher premiums are inevitable given an ageing population, and claim that shifting to a public system would generate few savings.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.