According to Comparis forecasts, basic insurance premiums will increase on average by 6% in 2025, after having already increased by 6.6% in 2023 and 8.7% in 2024. The comparator rejects this. fault on political decision-makers who forced insurers to reduce their reserves.
“Many funds lack the necessary cushion to cushion cost fluctuations,” analyzes Felix Schneuwly, Comparis health insurance expert, in a press release published on May 23. Without the reduction in reserves imposed by decision-makers, premiums would have increased by less than 3% per year and per person in recent years and would continue to evolve in this range,” he observes.
As many health insurers will still only have low reserves by the end of the year, despite an average premium increase of 8.7% in 2024, the expert expects that some of them are forced to increase their prices by more than 10% in certain cantons and premium regions.
According to the latest forecasts from Comparis and the ETH Zurich Economic Research Center (KOF), the growth in overall healthcare costs in Switzerland stands at 4.1% for 2023. It is expected to reach 3.6%. this year 2024 and 3.2% next year. “The growth in the cost share determining health insurance premiums is constantly accelerating, because the catalog of basic insurance services is constantly expanding,” explains the Comparis expert.
“Hospitals are raising prices for outpatient and inpatient services, because more and more of them are no longer covering costs. The implementation of the nursing initiative will not be free either,” says Felix Schneuwly. Only the shortage of qualified workers will lead to the long-awaited structural restructuring in the hospital sector, which the majority of cantons have so far prevented through deficit covering.
“The deluge of cost-focused regulations maintained by the federal government in recent years will do more harm than good,” warns the expert. Thus, according to him, the limitation on the admission of doctors and the expanded quality provisions have so far not led to any measurable cost savings, because above all, they increase bureaucracy and worsen labor shortages. qualified work, medicines and medtech products.
Whatever the outcome of the votes of June 9 on the initiative to reduce PS bonuses and the initiative to curb the costs of the Center, in the opinion of Felix Schneuwly, instead of accelerating on the reforms of the LAMal, Parliament must slow down and precisely evaluate legislative changes in terms of their desired and undesirable effects.
If Comparis asks to leave more room for maneuver to insurers, in particular by allowing them to only cover the cost of basic insurance for effective, adequate and economical services, the comparator suggests testing a single fund pilot project in a canton, in order to benefit from objective data on its effectiveness before a new vote.
