“As soon as possible, you should lower your deductible to 300 francs, because over the next few years, perhaps even the rest of your life, you will systematically exceed it.” This is the advice recently given by a pulmonologist to a patient, the day he prescribed the use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) ventilation to combat his sleep apnea. A true panacea for people suffering from this disease (read box), CPAP is however rarely sold to patients. They are almost always rented, which, over time, is expensive for health insurance companies.
CPAP can change a life
“Before, when I slept, I would stop breathing 50 times an hour, before waking up and going back to sleep. In other words, my sleep was broken hundreds of times a night and I was never able to sleep deeply. Now, with a CPAP, even with fewer hours of sleep, I feel much healthier. I dare to get behind the wheel again without being afraid of falling asleep at any moment,” describes a 42-year-old from Fribourg. And his wife adds: “It’s a pleasure to finally be able to sleep next to him, without feeling like there’s a lawnmower in the bedroom.”
In a recent article, the “Tages Anzeiger” estimated that the rental today amounts to around 1.5 francs per day, whereas, for a purchase price of 1228 francs, the machine could be amortized after only 2 ,2 years. And, taking into account that across the country some 150,000 people sleep with a CPAP every night, their rental generates tens of millions of francs per year. The business would thus be juicy for the cantonal pulmonary leagues, the rental of these devices representing around 80% of their revenue.
The controversy having caused quite a bit of ink to flow at the start of the year, the question of rental was raised up to the Federal Council. The latter responded on Wednesday that solutions were being considered, for example limiting the duration of the rental. “If the therapeutic trial with a rental device is successful, purchasing a device becomes the most economical solution for long-term treatment,” considers Berne. Secondly, changes will be made to the list of means and devices (LiMA) of the healthcare insurance benefits ordinance.
Sneaky and dangerous disease
Sleep apnea is a potentially serious sleep disorder. It is generally characterized by loud and irregular snoring, interspersed with respiratory arrests. People who suffer from it are most often overweight men. In addition to acute fatigue, even after a full night’s sleep, sleep apnea syndrome, if not treated, increases the risk of long-term cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Treatment usually includes weight loss and the use of breathing assistance devices, such as CPAP.
