Premium relief initiative: the most important facts about the proposal in brief
Published: Friday, Apr 5th 2024, 10:10
Updated At: Sunday, Jun 9th 2024, 05:00
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This Sunday, the people and cantons will decide on the popular initiative "Maximum 10 percent of income for health insurance premiums (premium relief initiative)". The initiative was launched by the SP. Here is a brief summary of the most important aspects of the proposal:
The initial situation
As healthcare costs rise, so do health insurance premiums. Over the past twenty years, these have more than doubled. Politicians have been trying to counteract this for years. Several reform packages aimed at curbing the rise in healthcare costs have either failed or been watered down by parliament.
Per capita premiums have been in place since the introduction of compulsory health insurance in 1996. While the premiums for all other social insurance schemes are financed either through taxes or income-related contributions, this is not the case with health insurance premiums. A bank manager pays the same premium as a cleaner.
However, the cantons are legally obliged to grant premium reductions to insured persons in modest financial circumstances. In recent years, some cantons have reduced their contribution, which has led to large differences in the amount of aid granted.
This is what the initiative
With the premium relief initiative, health insurance premiums are to be capped and no longer account for more than ten percent of disposable income. According to the text of the initiative, the federal government should cover two thirds of total expenditure. The cantons should finance one third.
If the initiative is accepted, Parliament would have three years to implement the new constitutional article at legislative level. If this were not successful, the Federal Council would have to temporarily enact the provisions by ordinance.
Today, the federal government pays 7.5% of the gross costs for basic insurance. The cantons pay the rest. In 2022, around CHF 5.4 billion of public money was spent on premium reductions. The federal government paid more than half of this.
The initiative committee/the supporters
The SP submitted the premium relief initiative in January 2020 with the credo that solutions were urgently needed for health insurance premiums. If accepted, the pressure of rising healthcare costs would shift away from premium payers and onto politicians. The federal government and cantons would be given an incentive to finally make progress on lowering drug prices and the "expensive pseudo-competition between health insurers".
A Yes vote to the referendum would reduce the burden on people caused by exploding premiums. The initiative would not only protect people on low wages from losing purchasing power, but also families, pensioner couples and people on average incomes. According to the initiators, a family of four with a combined net household income of CHF 9,000 would save an average of several hundred francs a month.
Although only left-wing circles have voted in favor of the initiative, the proposal has a chance of being adopted. According to the latest polls before the vote on Sunday, there is a stalemate between supporters and opponents. In addition to a majority of the people, a majority of the cantons is also needed for a Yes vote.
The opponents
The Federal Council, parliament and cantons reject the initiative. They argue that the initiative would only tackle the problem of rising healthcare costs symptomatically and not at its root. Furthermore, the follow-up costs of the initiative are not justifiable. The additional annual costs of the initiative would amount to CHF 3.5 to 5 billion per year for the Confederation and cantons. In view of the federal government's financial situation, this is unacceptable.
Opponents would prefer the indirect counter-proposal adopted by Parliament, which would come into force if the initiative is rejected. This would help to reduce the financial burden on people in the short to medium term.
In future, the cantons would have to pay a minimum contribution of 3.5% to 7.5% of the costs of compulsory basic insurance for the premium reduction. This would mean additional costs of around CHF 356 million for the cantons.
©Keystone/SDA
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