More and more people in Switzerland have problems paying their health insurance premiums. This is demonstrated in a recent survey by the online comparison portal Compparis.
Premiums will increase by an average of 6.6 percent in 2023 – more than in years. Health insurance premiums constitute an important budget item with an average of CHF 4,882 in 2023. That’s more than 300 francs this year.
Premiums, rents and rising interest rates
However, premiums aren’t just a concern for the poorest households, who find themselves in financial difficulties as a result: 33.4 percent of respondents in the Comparis survey said they’ll be in a worse financial situation next year – plus health insurance premiums. In March 2022 it was just 17.4 percent.
Comparison has been running the survey since 2017. Never before did so many people expect their personal finances to deteriorate.
While 63.6% of respondents cited the major increase in basic insurance premiums in 2023 as the main reason, 30.8 percent of respondents cited increased rent and housing loan interest rates as the second reason. And finally, the weak stock market is also a concern. 21.6 percent cite the depreciation of their capital investments as the reason for a worse financial situation in the future.
Low-income households are in trouble
In the lowest income bracket of up to 4,000 francs a month, 60 percent of Swiss have difficulty paying their health insurance premiums. For incomes between 4,000 and 8,000 francs, this figure is 41 percent. “Although the new premiums will be effective from January 1 next year,” says Michael Kuhn, 43, Comparis finance expert.
At all income levels, 61 percent of respondents have no problem paying premiums already planned in the budget. 14.1% of them state that they have difficulty in paying premiums all the time. And that’s before the big spike next year. At 28 percent, the proportion of people receiving discounted premiums remained stable.
More people are considering changing
Premiums have only slightly increased in recent years. Therefore, less than 10 percent changed health insurance companies. According to Blick, with large surcharges for the coming year, Comparis expects about 13 percent to change health insurance companies.