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How would you feel if your health care provider called you and suggested a colonoscopy? You’d probably be surprised. Such advice does not yet fall under the jurisdiction of health insurers. Zurich’s FDP national councilor Andri Silberschmidt and Helsana are now on a joint mission to change that.
From Helsana’s perspective, there is great savings potential if health insurers could make better use of the health data of policyholders. An internal report from Helsana concluded that savings on healthcare costs can be made if the health insurer is allowed to inform patients, for example if they have not had a preliminary examination for cancer – or if they take a “noticeable amount”. of painkillers. Helsana boss Roman Sonderegger told CH Media in mid-September.
For data protection reasons, insurance companies are currently not allowed to make such treatment recommendations to customers. Zurich National Councilor Andri Silberschmidt (FDP) wants to change this and has submitted a corresponding proposal to parliament. It is part of a major austerity package. During a preparatory meeting, the National Council’s Health Committee approved the proposal in the summer. Now the issue is before the National Council, which will debate it on September 28.
Silberschmidt believes that health insurers should play a more active role: “Today, health insurers have no say. If they see that someone is taking a combination of medications that could be dangerous, they cannot report it.” He wants to break this barrier.
Confusion or help?
Not everyone agrees with the proposal. Hanspeter Kuhn, a Bernese health lawyer, criticizes the plan: “If the doctor recommends medication A and the health insurer recommends medication B, who should I trust?” From his point of view, such advice from the health insurer entails a great risk of confusion.
Kuhn, who knows the sector well as a former FMH board member, admits: “Health insurers sometimes have a better overview of someone’s health care than the treating physicians. Especially if the patient does not have a GP.” The health insurance fund, on the other hand, knows all the medicines and treatments that the insured person receives through them.
This article was first published in the “Observer”. You can find more exciting articles at www.beobachter.ch.
This article was first published in the “Observer”. You can find more exciting articles at www.beobachter.ch.
Kuhn therefore proposes a compromise so that health insurers can use their information: “They should be able to propose the treatments to the specialist or general practitioner, who will then inform the patients.” As a result, the roles between the health insurer and the GP remained clearly defined.
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
