Hospital financing dispute: FDP national councilor Regine Sauter attacks the union

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FDP state councilor Regine Sauter (57) shakes her head. “It is completely wrong to decide on a referendum before a bill has been adopted,” the health politician told Blick. Their anger is directed at the unions who want to hold a referendum against the largest healthcare reform in recent years.

A lot of money is involved: in the future, the health care benefits of the mandatory basic insurance must be financed ‘from a single source’. In the future, not only outpatient but also inpatient services would be fully billed by health insurers. So far, the cantons have covered at least 55 percent of inpatient costs, but not a cent for outpatient services. They are now expected to contribute around 27 percent of the total costs. The cantonal funds would be distributed to health insurers through a separate institution.

The public union VPOD wants to challenge the proposal. She fears privatization of health care financing, fewer democratic control options by the public sector and more cost pressure on rates and therefore also on employees.

“This argument is far-fetched,” says Sauter. What matters is how financing is reorganized. “It has nothing directly to do with the rates.”

Equal treatment for contract hospitals

As chairman, Sauter represents the national hospital association H+, which includes more than 200 hospitals and healthcare institutions. She is also fighting to ensure that the so-called contract hospitals – which are not on the cantonal hospital lists, but have entered into direct contracts with health insurers – will in the future receive the same reimbursement through basic insurance as the listed hospitals. However, this would impose an additional burden of R100-150 million on those paying the premiums. Additional insurance would be a relief.

“The contracted hospitals make an important contribution to healthcare and must be treated equally in terms of compensation,” Sauter emphasizes. She hopes that the equal length of the tables will ensure more competition and therefore lower costs. But the proposal is struggling: the Council of States has already rejected it, and on Thursday the National Council is also expected to drop the idea.

Eliminate barriers

It is becoming increasingly clear that the majority of the more moderate variant of the Council of States will gain the upper hand in parliament. It is important for the hospital association that the proposal is finally finalized after fourteen years of discussion, as association director Anne-Geneviève Bütikofer (51) confirms: “We must remove false incentives and promote the more cost-effective outpatient sector,” she says. say. “We now have a good compromise that should be supported by service providers, cantons and insurance companies.”

However, Bütikofer also makes it clear that further steps are needed for hospitals: “Outpatient rates also need to be adjusted, as they do not cover costs today,” she says. “And we must promote integrated care by better connecting the different actors.”

Source:Blick