June 9, 2024 will be a busy voting Sunday
Published: Wednesday, Jan 31st 2024, 12:30
Updated At: Wednesday, Jan 31st 2024, 12:30
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On June 9, voters will have to decide on four referendums at the ballot box. On the one hand, two popular initiatives to reduce the burden of premiums will be put to the vote, and on the other, the referendum against the energy tax decree. The fourth proposal is the "Stop compulsory vaccination" initiative.
This was decided by the Federal Council on Wednesday. The people will therefore decide on two important health policy proposals. Firstly, the popular initiative "Maximum 10% of income for health insurance premiums (premium relief initiative)" submitted by the SP in January 2020 will be put to the vote.
The initiative demands that insured persons must spend a maximum of ten percent of their disposable income on health insurance premiums. If this limit is exceeded, the federal government and cantons would have to step in with premium reductions - with the federal government covering at least two thirds.
In the 2023 autumn session, the National Council and Council of States rejected the proposal and adopted an indirect counter-proposal to the initiative. According to this, the cantons will have to pay a minimum contribution to the premium reduction in future. The Councillors referred to the high costs of implementing the initiative. If it is accepted, billions would have to be saved in other areas.
The initiators, on the other hand, criticized the counter-proposal, arguing that the funds for the parliament's proposed measures to reduce premiums were not even a tenth of the size of those proposed by the initiative.
Putting the brakes on healthcare costs
Secondly, the popular initiative "For lower premiums - cost brake in the healthcare system (cost brake initiative)" submitted in March 2020 and launched by the Center Party will also be voted on on 9 June. According to the popular initiative, the federal government and cantons, together with the stakeholders in the healthcare system, must take measures if healthcare costs rise too sharply compared to wage trends. This would be the case if cost growth per insured person were to exceed nominal wage growth by a fifth.
In the 2023 fall session, Parliament recommended rejecting the petition for a referendum, but adopted an indirect counter-proposal. Measures in the Health Insurance Act (KVG) are intended to curb cost growth in the healthcare system with cost and quality targets.
However, the counter-proposal is not effective enough because the law does not set any requirements in the event that the cost and quality targets are not met, according to the center in October 2023. The cost brake initiative is therefore "more urgent than ever".
The popular initiative "For freedom and physical integrity (stop compulsory vaccination)", which was submitted in December 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic, is a third proposal in the area of health policy that will be put to the vote. The Federal Assembly is also recommending a "no" to this initiative.
Headwinds in the face of the energy jacket decree
Furthermore, on June 9, the people will decide on the energy package decree passed by Parliament, the Federal Act on a Secure Electricity Supply from Renewable Energies. The bill provides for measures to ensure security of supply and aims to promote the faster expansion of renewable energies in order to achieve the climate targets.
The Fondation Franz Weber (FFW) led the referendum against the bill. Initially, a small alliance led by Pierre-Alain Bruchez from Neuchâtel fought against the decree, later joined by the Swiss Free Landscape Association and the FFW. The referendum leaders criticize that the law was passed in haste and goes too far.
Parliament clearly approved the blanket decree in the 2023 fall session. In addition to most political parties, environmental organizations such as the WWF, Greenpeace, the Swiss Energy Foundation (SES) and the "Never again nuclear power plants" association are also in favour of the blanket decree. Business associations from various sectors, including Economiesuisse, Swisscleantech and the TCS, also spoke out in favor of a yes vote at the Electricity Congress of the Association of Swiss Electricity Companies.
©Keystone/SDA
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