Limited number of drugs account for a fifth of all costs

Rising healthcare costs are one of the biggest concerns of Swiss people, and their government. Keystone / Ennio Leanza

A lack of transparency around the pricing of many top-selling Swiss drugs is also a problem, said an umbrella group of health insurers on Wednesday.

The Curafutura association said that around a fifth of all medicine costs – some CHF8 million ($8.5 billion) per year – are accounted for by just 20 drugs. Of these, seven are based on an opaque pricing model, where “only the public or showcase price is known”, the association said at an annual press conference.

According to a new analysis presented by the group, the 20 medicines generated profits of CHF1.7 billion between October 2021 and September 2022 – a margin increase of 13%, compared to 5% for other medicines on the federal list of specialist drugs.

The seven drugs described as lacking transparency were related to the treatment of various types of cancer, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, and cystic fibrosis.

Curafutura said the government’s plans to further expand the use of a confidential pricing model was questionable, as evidence shows that it has not led to lower prices. In fact, the highest spending was for the seven drugs that lacked transparent prices. As a result, the association suggests other models to stabilise prices should be considered.

This is also backed up by a study from the University of Zurich published last year that found using confidential discounts on cancer and other drugs does little to make them available faster and at more affordable prices.

The rising cost of healthcare, and how to best control it, is a perennial concern both for the Swiss government and population. In 2023, the cost of compulsory health insurance is to increase by an average of 6.6%, the biggest annual rise in a decade. The price of an average monthly adult premium is set to climb to almost CHF400.