For the first time in 13 years, health insurance premiums will fall from 2022, saving consumers hundreds of Swiss francs a year. The move was announced by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), who said the reduction was possible due to insurers using built-up cash reserves, estimated at 12,4 billion Swiss francs.
The FOPH announced that they were expecting the average premium for health insurance in 2022 to cost 315 Swiss francs a month. Depending on the canton, this could result in an up to 2,1 percent decrease in health insurance premiums. Overall, consumers across Switzerland will pay 0,2 percent less on average than last year.
Head of the Department of Home Affairs, Alain Berset, told reporters that the reduction “is very good news for the Swiss population.” Berset explained that the fall in premiums was due to the FOPH “encouraging” health insurance providers to reduce the amount of cash they keep in reserve, estimated at 12,4 billion Swiss francs total.
The FOPH said that the current plan was to reduce the amount insurers hold in cash reserves so that premiums would remain low. They expected that they would be able to reduce this amount “without harming the solvency of insurance companies.” The plan will see the first reduction in the cost of basic and supplemental health insurance since 2008.
Reporting on the news, Swissinfo noted that controlling the cost of Swiss healthcare was still “a major issue.” The government estimates that due to an aging population, the cost of hospitals and doctors will only increase. santésuisse, an umbrella organisation for health insurers, welcomed the news of lower premiums, but stressed that healthcare costs must be cut to make sure insurance remained affordable.