The reform of uniform healthcare financing (EFAS) was accepted on Sunday by 53.3% of the votes, according to the final results. Despite the block opposition of the French-speaking cantons.
In Fribourg, 56.6% of voters said no. The linguistic limit is felt. The French-speaking side clearly rejected the project, unlike the German-speaking side. Same scenario in Valais, where the Haut and the Bas did not vote in the same way. The canton refused the reform by 53.5%.
Neuchâtel and Geneva voted the most strongly against the project, with 65.6% and 65.5% no respectively. The Jurassians (63.2%) and the Vaudois (62.3%) follow.
Beyond Sarine, the result is quite different. All cantons voted in favor of EFAS. In Zurich, the reform was supported by 57.7% of voters. Berne said yes by 53.4%, but the French-speaking part of the canton rejected the reform. Ticino is also on the yes side, with 50.5%.
In total, the supporters of the reform obtained 1,302,528 votes, against 1,140,791 for the opponents. The participation rate was 44.9%.
All actors involved
Today, three different forms of financing coexist for outpatient and inpatient treatment as well as long-term care. The cantons pay 55% of inpatient bills and around 46% of long-term care, via taxes. But they do not contribute to the costs of the outpatient sector, which are entirely the responsibility of the insurance companies, and therefore of the premium payers.
In the future, the cantons will have to pay at least 26.9% for all types of benefits; they will be able to contribute more. The remaining 73.1% will be financed by insurers, and therefore health insurance premiums, regardless of the provider and the place where the services are provided.
