class=”sc-29f61514-0 icZBHN”>
It is now clear how much premiums will rise in the coming year: by an average of 8.7 percent, federal councilor Alain Berset (51) announced on Tuesday. And the criticism is not long in coming. It comes from the health insurers Santésuisse and Curafutura and is aimed at the Federal Ministry of the Interior (EDI), which reports to Berset.
The associations accuse the EDI of not having exploited the savings potential in healthcare. More savings are possible, especially when it comes to medicines. In addition, the service catalog needs to be adjusted.
According to Curafutura, premium payers now have to suffer because reform projects have been postponed. The EDI has not made sufficient use of the possibilities to reduce costs – and that is incomprehensible.
Save more thanks to generic medicines
In concrete terms, the association is dissatisfied with the way in which the EDI presents the margin revision. This would have ensured that pharmacists and doctors do not earn significantly more on the original medicine than on the generic medicine. “This would have enabled an immediate cost saving of 60 million francs,” Curafutura wrote in a press release. A further several hundred million francs could have been saved as a result of the distribution of more generic medicines.
The introduction of the Tardoc doctor’s rate would also reduce costs. The discussion about the benefit catalog in compulsory basic insurance also has potential for Curafutura. Because this includes 98 percent of all services. You have to question the entire expansion.
Costs are rising everywhere
Health insurer Santésuisse calls for an immediate halt to the expansion of the service catalogue. According to health insurer Santésuisse, the costs of medicines, care, psychotherapy and physiotherapy will have risen particularly sharply in 2023. This justifies the increase of 8.7 percent in 2024, the association wrote in a statement.
The association believes that reforms are necessary, such as lowering laboratory fees and drug prices to the levels of other European countries, as well as the use of generic drugs. According to Santésuisse, these measures would allow savings of over a billion francs.
In the medium and long term, significant improvements are needed in the cantons’ care planning for hospitals and doctors. (SDA/rba)
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.
