Making health affordable for all: Yes to the premium relief initiative
The premium bill flutters into the mailbox every month, or rather: it crashes into the house. Because soon this bill will weigh three times more than it did 20 years ago. And not just for people who can easily afford it, but for everyone. The premium of a business lawyer is exactly the same as that of a shoe saleswoman or a construction worker. Although there are premium reductions, fewer and fewer households receive them, and at ever smaller amounts. This is because most cantons have frozen or even cut the funds for this in order to reduce taxes for the super-rich. At the same time, wages for employees and pensions for the elderly have risen much less than premiums.
It can't go on like this: Health is not a luxury product that can be dispensed with from time to time, but quite simply the prerequisite for a good life. There is therefore no question that health must once again be affordable for everyone. That is precisely the goal of the premium relief initiative.
The initiative calls for no household in Switzerland to spend more than 10% of its income on Health insurance premiums has to spend. Neither families nor single parents or single people, nor pensioners. Today, there are many households that have to pay more than 20% of their income for premiums. This popular initiative would put an end to this, because it would increase the premium reductions accordingly. The cantons would not be able to cut more and more or keep beneficiaries away from the premium reductions to which they are entitled by means of administrative harassment.
The premium relief initiative also stops the developments towards two-tier medicine that are already taking place. Because today, many people with low and medium incomes think twice or three times about going to the Doctor should go - even if your stomach or head may have long since started to hurt too much. This is not only unpleasant, it can also be very dangerous and expensive. The initiative ensures that the premium burden falls and that all people can afford the Premiums for a low deductible rate. Access to basic medical care is thus strengthened for all.
Save We do need to take action in the healthcare sector: on drug prices, on overprovision and on rip-off wages. But certainly not by rigorously restricting access to treatment through financial hurdles for the insured.
Set an example for a solidary and affordable health care system:
Premium Relief Initiative
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