Mitte supports its own cost brake initiative
Published: Saturday, Feb 24th 2024, 11:40
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Unsurprisingly, the Center Party has voted very clearly in favour of the cost brake initiative it launched. This initiative aims to get the growth in healthcare costs under control, including health insurance premiums.
The initiative therefore tackles the cause and not the symptom, explained Yvonne Bürgin, a member of the National Council from the center of Zurich, to the delegates. The proposed cost brake works in the same way as the federal debt brake, and this has proven its worth.
Bürgin said that the healthcare system is sick and full of false incentives. Healthcare costs are the number one concern of the population. The healthcare system must not become a luxury. Six billion francs could be saved without reducing quality.
According to the text of the cost brake initiative, the federal government and cantons must take measures together with the stakeholders in the healthcare system if costs rise too sharply compared to wage trends. The cost brake thus makes everyone responsible for taking cost-saving measures, said Bürgin. There will be no rationing or cuts in benefits. "We want to continue to have the best healthcare system in the world," she explained.
The Swiss parliament has adopted an indirect counter-proposal to the popular initiative. This essentially provides for the introduction of cost and quality targets for the healthcare system. However, the Center Party is sticking to its initiative. The party criticized the counter-proposal for being too vague.
In the vote, the delegates voted 212 to 1 in favor of the cost brake. The federal referendum will take place on June 9.
©Keystone/SDA
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