Huge difference in hospital fees: Insured pay more than half a billion!

class=”sc-29f61514-0 kHgAwW”>

The cost of the same treatment in Switzerland is not always the same – it varies by hospital. The current tariff comparison by price watcher Stefan Meierhans (54) now shows how severe the differences are.

An appendectomy is the cheapest in Ticino: treatment at Clinica Santa Chiara in Locarno costs 6,090 francs. At Inselspital Bern, the same treatment imposes more than a quarter on basic insurance: 7810 francs, the “Sonntagszeitung” writes. There are also distinct differences between the cantons.

According to the Health Insurance Law, prices should be based on the cheapest hospitals. A hospital may charge higher rates only for treatments with complications or co-morbidities. The example of appendicitis surgery shows that this is not so.

Everyone is guilty

But Meierhans doesn’t see hospitals as the only culprits. Hospitals charge a lot of money. Insurers bargain badly. Cantonal governments approve very high tariffs. And the Federal Council did nothing to combat the conflict of interest of the cantons. It must eventually unravel its different roles and set a national standard tariff, »the price watcher demands.

It hits the mark with this: To date, there is no definitive regulation on how hospitals and health insurance companies set tariffs. Two health insurance associations, Curafutura and Santésuisse, have been fighting for a long time. They demand a legally binding, uniform standard across Switzerland to set hospital tariffs. The draft regulation was in effect three years ago – but failed due to cantons.

Federal Office becomes active

In the health sector, different voices blame each other. Ultimately, the Federal Office of Public Health is currently in the process of introducing a national standard for calculating hospital tariffs, the article continues.

Meierhans concludes that half a billion could be saved each year with this measure. According to Curafutura, even more – 625 million Swiss francs per year. One thing is for sure: a lot of money can be saved with a national standard for calculating tariffs. This will have a positive impact on exploding health insurance premiums.

Source :Blick