Increase in premium reductions to take effect from 2026
Published: Friday, Dec 13th 2024, 12:10
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From 2026, the cantons will have to provide more money for premium reductions. The Federal Council plans to bring the indirect counter-proposal to the rejected premium reduction initiative and the corresponding ordinance into force on this date.
In future, the cantons will have to pay a minimum contribution of 3.5 to 7.5 percent of the costs of compulsory basic insurance for the premium reduction - depending on how much the premiums burden the 40 percent lowest-income insured persons in the canton in question.
In the first two calendar years after the counter-proposal comes into force, the minimum contribution in all cantons will be 3.5% of the gross costs. Most cantons already meet this criterion, as the Federal Council writes.
In future, cantons with high healthcare costs will have to pay more in premium reductions than cantons with low costs. In future, contributions will have to be increased automatically if the costs of compulsory health insurance (OKP) rise in the respective canton. The federal government already does this today.
On Friday, the Federal Council submitted the amended ordinance on the federal contribution to health insurance premium reductions (VPVK) for consultation by March 31. In particular, the ordinance is to regulate how the cantonal gross costs and the premium burden of the forty percent lowest-income insured persons are determined.
In June of this year, voters rejected the SP's premium relief initiative by a surprisingly large margin - with 55.5% of the vote. The popular initiative sought to limit household expenditure on health insurance premiums to a maximum of ten percent of disposable income.
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