Parliament rejects reform of health insurance scheme
Patients will not have to pay out extra money for health services before the health insurance covers the costs, after parliament surprisingly threw out the controversial proposal on Friday.
In a previous decision earlier this month, parliament had agreed to increase the deductible paid by patients to CHF350 ($350) annually under certain conditions.
Supporters said the CHF50 hike would help reduce health costs and encourage patients to make less frequent use of medical products and services. Opponents, notably from the political left, had warned that the increase would cause hardship for the less well-off who could no longer afford to get treatment.
However, the proposal fell down during the final vote in parliament on Friday, after the rightwing Swiss People’s Party changed its mind and voted against it.
U-turn
The party’s president Albert Rösti had already announcedExternal link the party’s intention in the media on Wednesday, saying that decision came after feedback from members and that it was not right that the “health insurance was redeveloped at the cost of the sick”.
Political opponents have accused the party of a U-turn to win voters in election year.
Basic health insurance is compulsory in Switzerland.
The leftwing Social Democratic Party and a consumer group had announced a plan to challenge the legal reform had it been accepted.
Two major political parties, the Social Democrats as well as the Christian Democrats, are currently collecting signatures for separate constitutional amendments to cap mandatory health insurance premiums.
More
More
Initiative launched to cap health insurance premiums
This content was published on
A people’s initiative wants health insurance premiums to not exceed 10% of income with the balance paid for by the state.
Heavy snowfall in Switzerland causes traffic chaos and accidents
This content was published on
The heavy snowfall late on Thursday and during the night into Friday led to traffic chaos and many accidents in many regions of Switzerland.
Chimpanzee behaviours passed down through generations
This content was published on
Some of the complex behaviours of chimpanzees have been passed down and refined over generations. These include the combination of several tools for foraging.
More than 600,000 rounds of Swiss sniper ammunition reach Ukraine
This content was published on
Sniper ammunition from Swiss P Defence reached Ukraine via a Polish company in July 2023, reported SRF Investigativ on Thursday, citing official information.
Environment minister outlines Swiss efforts to limit global warming
This content was published on
Switzerland will do its part to achieve the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celcius, said Environment Minister Albert Rösti, who's attending COP29 in Baku.
This content was published on
Switzerland remains by a large margin the European champion of train travel, both in terms of the number of journeys per person and the number of kilometres travelled. Switzerland remains by a large margin the European champion of train travel, both in terms of the number of journeys per person and the number of kilometres travelled. Switzerland remains by a large margin the European champion of train travel, both in terms of the number of journeys per person and the number of kilometres travelled.
Assisted suicide: Sarco inventor defends himself against killing rumours
This content was published on
Sarco inventor Philip Nitschke has defended himself against rumours that one of his colleagues assisted in the suicide of a woman in Schaffhausen, northern Switzerland.
Too much attention paid to queer people, says Swiss survey
This content was published on
Most Swiss are well disposed towards LGBTQ people, according to a study. However, prejudice and intolerance persist in certain sectors of society, particularly towards transgender and intersex people.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Parliament wants patients to pay more for health costs
This content was published on
Patients could face higher costs for medical products and services following parliament's decision to raise the minimum health insurance deductibles.
This content was published on
Curing cancer for the masses could be challenging if healthcare systems are crippled by rapidly rising cancer drug prices.
Authorities seek collective health insurance for asylum seekers
This content was published on
The Swiss government has put out a public tender for a collective health insurance to cover all asylum seekers in its federal centres.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.