Sharp increase in health insurance premiums expected
The Minister of Health Alain Berset announces this Tuesday the health insurance premiums for 2023. A sharp increase is expected.
The bill is expected to rise sharply for many policyholders next year (illustration image).
KEYSTONE/GAETAN BALLY
The Federal Councilor gives a press conference at 2:00 p.m. with the director of the Federal Office of Public Health (OFSP) Anne Lévy. Health experts expect they won’t have any good news for policyholders. According to the director of Santésuisse Verena Nold, an average increase in health insurance premiums of 10% would be necessary to cover the costs.
And in some areas, the Swiss could pay even higher premiums, she told Keystone-ATS earlier this month.
Expenditure per insured increased by more than 6% last year. The umbrella organization believes that the problem lies mainly in the cost of outpatient treatment and medication, as well as doctor’s fees. The catch-up effects of some of the treatments that could not be carried out in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic also played a role.
Reduced financial mattress
A study by the consulting firm Accenture published in August estimates at least 5.4% the need for catch-up to cover the evolution of costs. This is due in particular, according to her, to the pandemic. But also to the fact that, under political pressure, the premiums have been calculated as accurately as possible over the past two years and that the reserves have been partly reduced.
For the comparator Comparis, the expected “premium shock” is due to “political intervention” in the management of reserves. Many funds no longer have the necessary financial cushion to cushion current cost fluctuations, he warned already in May, predicting an average increase of 5%, but an increase of more than 10% for many policyholders.
This increase in health premiums will further increase the burden on households: in addition to general inflation, they still have to deal with rising energy prices and charges on tenants.
ATS
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