by © Francisco Javier Zea Lara | Dreamstime.com In Switzerland, the finances of hospitals are similar to those of a business. If revenues fall, as they did during the coronavirus pandemic, profits can turn into losses. During the recent phase of the pandemic, non-urgent operations were postponed to free up hospital capacity to care for serious ...
Topics:
Investec considers the following as important: 3) Swiss Markets and News, 3.) Personal Finance, Coronavirus Switzerland, Editor's Choice, Featured, health, Healthcare cost Switzerland, newsletter, Personal finance
This could be interesting, too:
Mark Thornton writes The Great Chocolate Crisis of 2024
Mustafa Ekin Turan writes How EU Law Has Made the Internet Less Free for Everyone Else
Thomas J. DiLorenzo writes Attention mises.org Readers! Treat the Students in Your Life to The Best Week of Their Year
Octavio Bermudez writes Mises in Argentina: Lessons of the Past for Today
© Francisco Javier Zea Lara | Dreamstime.com
In Switzerland, the finances of hospitals are similar to those of a business. If revenues fall, as they did during the coronavirus pandemic, profits can turn into losses.
During the recent phase of the pandemic, non-urgent operations were postponed to free up hospital capacity to care for serious Covid-19 cases. Postponing these operations has left a large hole in hospital revenue. Fears of infection have kept others away from hospitals, further affecting revenue. In addition, extra costs were incurred buying supplies and hiring extra staff to take care of Covid-19 patients.
The total loss across Switzerland is estimated at between CHF 1.7 and 2.9 billion, according to H+, a Swiss hospital association. 80% of this is related to postponed operations.
Hospitals hope the federal government and health insurers might help to fill the hole. Health insurers have benefited from a fall in claims for non-urgent surgery and have reserves of around CHF 9 billion, according to H+. Because the directives to reconfigure operations during the pandemic came from the federal government, some argue it should therefore help hospitals financially.
However, Alain Berset, a federal councillor, pointed out last week that non-urgent surgery had been postponed rather than cancelled, a comment some have taken as a hint that the federal government can’t be counted on to help out.
Spending on health has declined across the world because of Covid-19. Postponement of non-emergency operations and fears of SARS-CoV-2 infection have kept many away from hospitals.
The Economist Intelligence Unit expects healthcare spending in western Europe to fall by 2.6% in 2020 as a result of Covid-19. However, in 2021, it expects spending across the region to rise by 5.4% to a level above where it was before the pandemic, partly driven by the costs of projected SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.
Perhaps Swiss hospitals will have a bumper year in 2021 that will make up for losses in 2020. But who knows. Beyond the general possibility of a viral pandemic, no one forecast SARS-CoV-2 this time last year.
You Might Also Like
Swiss government reveals more on Covid-19 tracing app
On 13 May 2020, Switzerland’s government published more information on the Swiss Proximity Tracing App (Swiss PT), an app designed to slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2. Developed by teams at EPFL and ETHZ, the app uses Bluetooth to detect when your phone comes within two metres of another phone or device with the app. It then records the contact as an anonymous key and the duration of contact, flagging any close contact longer than 15 minutes.
Italy set to reopen borders with Switzerland from 3 June 2020
Italy is preparing to reopen its borders with the rest of Europe, according to the newspaper La Repubblica. A draft law on new rules was published on 15 May 2020 by the Italian Council of Ministers. It provides for the possibility of allowing entry to Italy from 3 June 2020 without requiring those arriving from certain countries to quarantine for 14 days. The countries include EU nations and Schengen members, including Switzerland and Monaco.
Most want masks made compulsory on Swiss public transport, suggests survey
More than two thirds are in favour of making masks compulsory on Switzerland’s public suggests a survey run by Tamedia, according to the newspaper Le Matin.
1 in 10 Swiss hospitals facing financial difficulty
Around one hospital in ten in Switzerland could end up in financial difficultly, according to a report by PWC. In addition, 37 of the 44 hospitals surveyed will not be profitable enough to remain competitive over the next five to ten years, predict the authors of the report.
Swiss visit doctor less often than most of Europe
In 2017, an average Swiss resident visited a medical professional 4.32 times, according to data recently published by Eurostat. Only residents of Denmark (4.30), Sweden (2.77) and Cyprus (2.09) went to see a doctor less often. The average number of visits across those European countries with 2017 data was 6.84.
Swiss government announces further restrictions to slow spread of virus
At a press conference at 5pm on 16 March 2020, members of the Federal Council presented a list of further restrictions designed to slow the spread of the Covid-19 virus, that will become active from midnight tonight. A video of the conference can be viewed below.
Coronavirus: infection rates in some Swiss cantons now higher than Lombardy
Lombardy, the region in northern Italy where the coronavirus outbreak first took off in Europe, now has fewer per capita cases testing positive for the virus than some Swiss cantons. Recent data from Italy show there were 179 cases per 100,000 in Lombardy. In Ticino, Switzerland’s worst affected canton, there were 329 cases per 100,000. Geneva (231) and Vaud (211) had Switzerland’s next highest rates.
Coronavirus: loss of smell indicates “very high likelihood” of infection
While there is currently no scientifically proven link between anosmia (loss of smell) and Covid-19, more and more experts are saying the symptom is a strong indicator. Gilbert Greub, head of the microbiology department at the CHUV hospital in Lausanne, is one such expert. “Given the widespread Covid-19 epidemic, I think that everyone who has a problem tasting or a problem smelling has a very high likelihood of testing positive and should be tested.
Tags: Coronavirus Switzerland,Editor's Choice,Featured,Health,Healthcare cost Switzerland,newsletter,Personal finance