A look at current healthcare costs shows that healthcare premiums are likely to rise again in 2025

According to the latest worry barometer, high health insurance premiums are currently causing the Swiss the most problems. Last year the national average rose by 8.7 percent to 359 francs per month.

How premiums develop in the coming year depends on the costs of medical treatments that are declared to health insurers. The first figures for the current year will be available in 20 minutes, which show that premiums will probably rise sharply again in 2025.

In the first two months of the current year, treatments, medicines, hospital stays and other healthcare services cost approximately R7 billion – 6.7 percent more than in the previous year.

However, the differences between the cantons are enormous: the canton of Glarus recorded the highest cost increase, while healthcare expenditure there increased by more than 14 percent. In the canton of Zurich and in most cantons of western Switzerland, costs are also significantly higher than last year. In the canton of Graubünden they have only decreased slightly.

The evaluation shows that costs have not risen equally in all areas: according to ’20 Minutes’, pharmacies and physiotherapists earned significantly more than the year before, around nine percent each. Outpatient hospital treatment also became considerably more expensive (9 percent), but the costs for inpatient treatment appear to be stagnating (0.3 percent). Treatments with a doctor became 5.7 percent more expensive, while medicines became 6.8 percent more expensive. Santésuisse was initially unable to explain why this was the case.

The development of premiums will also worry politicians in the coming months: on June 9 this year, two popular initiatives to reduce the premium burden will be put to the vote. With the premium waiver initiative, the SP demands that no one has to spend more than ten percent of their income on premiums. According to estimates, a yes vote would entail additional costs of more than six billion francs.

The Center’s cost-cutting initiative aims to require actors such as the federal government, hospitals, doctors and health insurers to take action if premiums rise too much compared to wages. Both initiatives are currently very popular among the population. (pre)