Parliament is likely to say yes to the proposal on Friday: opponents of the health reform are preparing for a referendum

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It is the largest health care reform in recent years, but there is also great resistance to the latest revision of the health insurance law. From the trade union side, the referendum is already a done deal: the public trade union VPOD wants to kill the proposal through the ballot box.

“The VPOD is launching the referendum on Friday to combat this enormous shift in power towards health insurers,” VPOD central secretary Viviane Hösli (39) confirms to Blick. “The health insurers then receive and distribute billions of dollars for hospital treatments and home stays – all without any democratic public sector control.”

The Federal Chancellery is expected to publish the referendum template in the government gazette on January 9, 2024. Then the official go-ahead is given for collecting signatures.

A clear yes in Parliament

Before that, the deal must overcome one final hurdle in parliament: in the final vote on Friday. But here there is a clear yes. Mitte, FDP and GLP will support the template.

After much criticism of the proposal, the SVP also fell into the yes camp. Party leader Thomas Aeschi (44) campaigned for a no vote at the last party meeting, but about two-thirds of the SVP were in favor of the reform. The left seems divided. In the SP, the votes for and against are approximately balanced. The green votes are also divided. This means that the law will probably receive more than a hundred votes in the National Council.

After fourteen years of debate, many parliamentarians now want to realize the mega reform. The proposal concerns the uniform financing of healthcare services in the compulsory basic insurance. Nowadays, outpatient treatment is fully billed by health insurers, but for inpatient services – that is, if you have to stay overnight in the hospital – the cantons cover at least 55 percent of the costs. All invoicing must now go through the cash registers and the cantons must pay at least 26.9 percent of the total costs.

Premium boost through care

In principle, the idea is virtually unchallenged. But the bill was amended in parliament in such a way that new points of attack arose. A major point of contention is the inclusion of long-term care, which should also be financed from a single source after a transition period. There is concern that premium pressure will increase due to the inclusion of healthcare. “This gives us a black box,” says SVP Landraad Thomas de Courten (57, BL). The reform is overloaded. “We will notice this in the premiums,” he warns. Still, he wants to respect the group’s decision and agree to it on Friday.

Green National Councilor Katharina Prelicz-Huber (64, ZH) will vote no. She also keeps an eye on healthcare workers. “With this reform, cost pressure in homes and hospitals increases – and with it the pressure on staff,” says the former VPOD president. “Working conditions will therefore deteriorate.”

Promote outpatient care

SP state councilor Barbara Gysi (59, SG), on the other hand, supports the proposal. You have to limit costs. There is already a shift from inpatient to outpatient care, which would put pressure on basic insurance and reduce the burden on the cantons. “This development is progressing, so only the cantons would benefit from the status quo.”

From Gysi’s point of view, the reform is “an important step in health care policy and a balanced compromise.”

VPOD is not forging an alliance

The VPOD is now looking for allies who will support the referendum. The trade unions Unia and Syna will probably also support the referendum, as will the trade union federation. The nursing professional association, which has already been successful with voters with its nursing initiative, is also a possibility. The association will make a decision in mid-January, says general director Yvonne Ribi (47).

For the unions, collecting 50,000 signatures by April should be a formality. And so healthcare reform could still come up for a vote in 2024.

Source:Blick