Health directors reaffirm no to initiatives
Published: Friday, May 24th 2024, 12:30
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At its annual meeting in Schaffhausen, the Conference of Cantonal Directors of Public Health (GDK) reaffirmed its "no" to the premium and cost brake initiative. It sees opportunities in the promotion of integrated care and thus in networking and coordination.
The burden of health insurance premiums is a real problem for many households and individuals, the conference announced in a communiqué on Friday. However, the premium relief initiative and the cost brake initiative would not contribute to a solution.
The healthcare system differs from canton to canton. This is why premium reductions are also structured differently. In 2022, the cantons would have spent CHF 2.5 billion on this. If they voted yes to the premium reduction initiative, they would lose their autonomy. Moreover, the additional costs could not be financed without tax increases and savings measures.
The cost brake initiative would jeopardize good, up-to-date care for all. It ignores the fact that some of the cost growth is justified and results from the ageing population and medical progress.
Integrated care
One focus of the conference was integrated care. Better networking has been a key topic for the conference since 2019. It drew up a guideline for this and intends to drive the topic forward. Above all, the plenary session noted the need for improvements in digital data exchange.
The GDK identified the different financing of outpatient and inpatient services as a brake on integrated care. For this reason, it supports the uniform financing (Efas) that was opposed in the referendum. This reform is broadly supported and promotes a cost-reducing shift from inpatient to outpatient care. The referendum vote should still take place in 2024.
The Annual General Meeting also confirmed the current eleven Board members in office. Basel Health Director Lukas Engelberger will remain President for a third term of office until 2026, while Rebecca Ruiz (VD) will remain Vice President.
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