Tag Archives: health

Health insurance premiums will rise by 8.7% on average in 2024, announced the authorities this week. This is the sharpest rise since 2010 when they rose by 8.6%. The average monthly premium across Switzerland in 2024 will be CHF 359.50. © Alexlmx | Dreamstime.comHealth Minister Alain Berset and Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) director Anne Lévy announced the sharp rise at a media conference in Bern. The rise in costs will be between 6.5% and 10.5% depending on the canton....

Many drugs come in two forms: expensive branded drugs and cheaper generic copies. Switzerland’s Federal Council hopes a shift to cheaper generic and bio-similar medicines can shave CHF 250 million from Switzerland’s rapidly rising cost of healthcare, reported SRF. New rules on medicine choices and health insurance were already set to come into force on 1 January 2024. However, this week the Federal Council announced that it will make the new rules tougher that first planned in the hope of...

On 21 June 2023, the government published figures on the direct health costs of the Covid pandemic. During 2020, 2021 and 2022, the federal government spent CHF 4.9 billion, the cantons up to CHF 2.9 billion and health insurers as much as CHF 1.4 billion. The CHF 9.2 billion total comes out at more than CHF 1,000 per resident. © Jan Gajdosik | Dreamstime.comMost of the money was spent on Covid tests (CHF 3 billion) and vaccination (CHF 2 billion). Increased hospital capacity to cope with...

Switzerland has relatively accommodating rules regarding the advertising and sale of tobacco products. And it has correspondingly high smoking rates. That is likely to begin changing from next year, reported RTS. Photo by Basil MK on Pexels.comThis week, the Federal Council sent parliament its position on how to implement the successful vote in February 2022 to ban tobacco advertising to young people – the advertising ban was supported by 56.6% of voters. In 2021, parliament agreed to...

On 17 May 2023, Interpharma and Santésuisse published their annual report showing drug price comparisons across Europe. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.comThe good news is the drug price gap between Switzerland and its neighbours has narrowed. The extra paid for on-patent drugs in Switzerland is now 5.4% on average. However, the price premium paid for generic (+45.5%) and biosimilar (+27.5%) off-patent drugs remains enormous – generic drugs are simple compounds where the composition is...

Last weekend, the PLR/FDP unveiled a plan to create a budget low cost health insurance option in Switzerland, reported RTS. Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels.comThe proposal, which includes lower cost ways of delivering healthcare, will be presented to parliament next month. Examples of ways to lower costs include limiting the choice of hospital and sharing hospital rooms with more patients or in less luxurious surroundings. The plan is a response to rising health insurance premiums...

Last weekend, the PLR/FDP unveiled a plan to create a budget low cost health insurance option in Switzerland, reported RTS. Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels.comThe proposal, which includes lower cost ways of delivering healthcare, will be presented to parliament next month. Examples of ways to lower costs include limiting the choice of hospital and sharing hospital rooms with more patients or in less luxurious surroundings. The plan is a response to rising health...

Sharply rising health insurance premiums appear to be a key driver behind 27% of people changing insurance provider in 2022, according to a survey by Comparis. © stockcreations | Dreamstime.comAverage premiums for 2023 are 6.6% higher than those for 2022. This sharp rise in premiums was cited as a key factor for changing insurer by 61% of the 3,156 people surveyed by the price comparison website. Other reasons cited were a habit of regularly shopping around (47%) and poor service...

Around CHF 8 billion is spent annually on medicines prescribed for specific diseases in Switzerland. 20 drugs account for about a fifth of this cost, many of them sold at prices negotiated in secret. These confidential drug price negotiations are one of the reasons the cost of Swiss healthcare is rising so fast, claims Curafutura, an association representing Swiss health insurance companies. Photo by Polina Tankilevitch on Pexels.comAccording to Curafutura drugs aimed at specific diseases...

A few days in bed might also help to recover from flu. Keystone / Martin Ruetschi The Swiss health authorities and the manufacturer AstraZeneca are at loggerheads over a nasal spray to vaccinate children and adolescents against influenza. The British-Swedish manufacturer told the Swiss Keystone-SDA agency that it had been asked by the Federal Office of Public Health to introduce its product in Switzerland two years ago. However, the health office had later set...