Swiss hospitals are in a bad way: two thirds of all hospitals closed last year with a deficit, according to “SonntagsBlick”. In total, losses amounted to almost a billion francs. Hospital directors had already warned of the risk of the health system collapsing. The latest figures from the Spital Benchmark association now reveal the extent of the crisis. These figures reflect the situation of almost all Swiss hospitals and clinics, thus providing for the first time an overall picture of the financial distress of the hospital sector. The finding is alarming: almost no acute care hospital is currently able to guarantee its long-term survival.
In concrete terms, in 2023, the operating margin (EBITDA) of Swiss hospitals was 2.5%. However, according to a rule of thumb, hospitals need a margin of 10% to be able to invest sustainably. A strategic value achieved in only one in ten hospitals in the previous financial year. Even institutions that were previously considered exemplary in financial terms have fallen into this critical zone. It is therefore not surprising that Anne-Geneviève Bütikofer, director of the umbrella association of hospitals H+, is shocked by these new figures. “The development affects everyone, no hospital group is spared,” she says.
The slump in hospital finances is exacerbated by inflation, which is weighing heavily on costs. This is leading the H+ association to demand higher hospital tariffs and compensation for the increase in costs. However, health insurers and politicians are turning a deaf ear. The reason is obvious: an increase in tariffs would lead to a further increase in health insurance premiums. Anne-Geneviève Bütikofer calls for a change in political mentality. Instead of focusing solely on reducing costs, the financing of the health system should be tackled, she says.
