The first clear result of the day paradoxically concerns the most complex subject submitted to the Swiss this voting Sunday: the reform of healthcare financing is accepted by 54.4%, according to intermediate results. This file opened years ago by Parliament aims to standardize the distribution of costs between cantons and insurers, to encourage the transition to outpatient care (care without overnight stay in hospital), cheaper than inpatient care (with overnight stay) .
But the röstigraben is very clear. Several explanations for this: first, the coincidence with the price of premiums. Indeed, apart from a slight discrepancy in Ticino, the places where insurance costs the most are those which most clearly refused the proposal. Then, a strong argument: in French-speaking Switzerland, we found in the campaign a certain Pierre-Yves Maillard, electoral locomotive today at the head of the Swiss Trade Union Union (USS), and whose arguments are still very effective after voters. His distrust of the project and of funds in general seems to have been contagious in his region of origin.
Among the supporters of the revision, we are obviously delighted, like the H+ hospitals which see a “possible improvement in their financial situation” thanks to the transfer to outpatient care. A victory also for Federal Councilor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, who has not always succeeded in convincing in the past. The umbrella of insurers Curafutura also welcomes a historic result, “a victory for the health system, patients and policyholders”, and calls for a “constructive dynamic” in the implementation of the reform.
On the side of the opponents, disappointed and worried, we are also already seeing further. Unia says it fears “unforeseeable consequences for institutions and premium payers”, and the USS notes “vast campaign promises that the EFAS reform alone will not keep”. It therefore calls for particular attention to the protection of policyholders and the working conditions of caregivers during the implementation, as well as the application of the nursing care initiative. He added that “it is urgent to take rapid and decisive action against the unbearable rise in premiums, and to stem the profits of for-profit service providers and the excessive salaries of specialists.”
The healthcare financing reform aims to ensure that cost coverage is identical between funds and cantons for all services. Today, the funds are responsible for all outpatient care, so the cantons contribute more for hospital care, for example. According to Parliament, this does not encourage them to favor outpatient care, which nevertheless costs less in the end.
Related News :