Switzerland’s public price watchdog chief, Stefan Meierhans, also know as “Mr Price”, has taken aim at high Swiss drug prices. A report published last week shows prices of generic drugs are nearly 2.4 times more expensive in Switzerland compared to the average price across 15 european countries. Generic drugs in the Netherlands cost 8% of what they cost in Switzerland. Anyone arriving in Switzerland from the UK will be...
Read More »Swiss drug prices more than double european average – “Mr Price” takes aim
Switzerland’s public price watchdog chief, Stefan Meierhans, also know as “Mr Price”, has taken aim at high Swiss drug prices. © Mauricio Jordan De Souza Coelho | Dreamstime.com A report published last week shows prices of generic drugs are nearly 2.4 times more expensive in Switzerland compared to the average price across 15 european countries. Generic drugs in the Netherlands cost 8% of what they cost in Switzerland. Source: Annual report of Swiss price watchdog Anyone arriving in...
Read More »Changes to health insurance zones could lead to steep premium rises for some
© Ginasanders | Dreamstime.com In Switzerland, how much you pay for compulsory health insurance depends on where you live. Premiums vary hugely by canton. For 2016, average monthly adult premiums in Basel City are CHF 545.60, Switzerland’s most expensive, compared to CHF 326.70, in lowest-cost Appenzell-Innerhoden. The difference between the two cantons is 40%. In addition to big differences between cantons, prices vary...
Read More »Changes to health insurance zones could lead to steep premium rises for some
In Switzerland, how much you pay for compulsory health insurance depends on where you live. Premiums vary hugely by canton. For 2016, average monthly adult premiums in Basel City are CHF 545.60, Switzerland’s most expensive, compared to CHF 326.70, in lowest-cost Appenzell-Innerhoden. The difference between the two cantons is 40%. © Ginasanders | Dreamstime.com In addition to big differences between cantons, prices vary within some cantons, which are sliced up into zones. For example, Zurich...
Read More »Swiss government plan to reduce doctors’ visits
20 Minutes. Some Swiss politicians would like to focus minds on the costs of going to the doctor to reduce the number going for the most minor of reasons. © Tyler Olson | Dreamstime.com Their plan would require deductibles to rise annually in line with increases in the cost of basic health insurance. Higher deductibles, they think, would put people off going to the doctor unecessarily, reducing pressure on the health system. On Thursday, parliament voted in favour of such an idea by 129 votes...
Read More »Tens of Thousands of Deaths from Forest Fires in Indonesia
In the FT, Jeevan Vasagar reports about a study according to which the haze spreading from Indonesian forest fires in Fall 2015 killed about 100 000 people in Southeast Asia.
Read More »Geneva’s Left wants 1% of salaries to pay for dentistry
20 Minutes. Geneva’s Ensemble à gauche and Socialist parties want to see compulsory dental care and presented a proposal to Geneva’s parliament in mid-February. On Monday Geneva’s labour party (Parti du travail) launched a cantonal initiative for the same thing. © Nejron | Dreamstime.com The plan would be funded by compulsory salary deductions of 1%. Half of this would be categorised as a payment by employers and half by employees. In many cases the full 1% would eventually be born by...
Read More »In conversation with David Sin
Published: Wednesday January 27 2016 A Singapore group has become a leading supplier of comprehensive health services to businesses and health insurers in the Asia-Pacific region, helping keep patients out of hospital though preventative healthcare. Providing healthcare for all their citizens is a key issue for Asian governments. The populations of countries such as India, China and Indonesia are rapidly ageing, placing a growing burden on healthcare budgets which are already insufficient to...
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