Swiss consider health politicians to be incompetent

In addition, respondents are convinced that the pharmaceutical industry and imaginary sick people are the biggest cost drivers. This is shown in a representative survey by the Internet comparison service Comparis. Mr. and Mrs. Swiss expect premiums to rise again next year. 47 percent even expect a significant boost of 4 to 6 percent. Only every twentieth Swiss (5.3 percent) assumes that health insurance premiums will not rise next year for once. The constantly spiraling premiums are overburdening many families: 28 percent say they have used up all their financial leeway. For many, this is now a harsh reality.

Incompetent politicians

The respondents do not believe that politics will soon get a grip on the unchecked cost increase and the incessantly rising health insurance premiums: 62 percent do not trust politicians to reform the health care system and to slow down the cost increase. This assessment does not surprise Felix Schneuwly, health insurance expert at the Internet comparison service comparis.ch: "Since the introduction of the Health Insurance Act (KVG) in 1996, politicians have been trying to have a regulating effect on the rising costs - so far without success. I don't expect to see any improvement until the success of the treatment is finally remunerated and no longer just the quantity of the medical service."

French least pessimistic, Ticino disillusioned

When it comes to politics, the French are the least pessimistic. Of them, "only" 52 percent believe that politicians are incapable of making an Improvement to bring about a change. Among the German-speaking Swiss, the figure is 65 percent, and the Ticinese are really disillusioned: almost 70 percent of them have lost faith in healthcare politicians. For Felix Schneuwly, this result comes as no surprise, because: "The French generally rely more on the state than the German-speaking and Ticino-speaking Swiss."

The biggest cost drivers: pharmaceutical industry and imaginary sick people

The respondents blame several players for the unchecked rise in healthcare costs. They name the main culprits as patients who use healthcare services for every little thing (60 percent), the pharmaceutical industry (58 percent), health insurers (42 percent), doctors and hospitals (37 percent) and people who do not take care of their health (24 percent). Another reason is seen by 17 percent in the increasingly dense health care network, which tempts people to visit doctors even for minor cases.

For health insurance expert Felix Schneuwly, it is clear that insureds must be rewarded with lower premiums if they do not immediately go to the hospital emergency or the specialist for every trivial matter. And he makes a demand: "The Federal Office of Public Health must give insurers more leeway to increase discounts on alternative insurance models such as Telmed, GP and HMO".

Two-thirds of all Swiss against ban on parallel imports

If it's a matter of ideas on how to counteract the rise in Health care costs the Swiss population has clear ideas about how this could be curbed. 64 percent of respondents are in favor of allowing parallel imports of medicines in order to benefit from cheaper prices abroad. "This is a clash between the insured's desire for low premiums and the pharmaceutical industry's demands for drug prices that are adjusted for purchasing power," notes Felix Schneuwly.

54 percent doubt the integrity of doctors and call for strict control of their billing, and 27 percent would like to enable treatment and spa stays abroad. Other demands include an increase in the minimum deductible of 300 francs (17 percent), a restriction of the benefits catalog (13 percent) or the introduction of a higher deductible (12 percent).

80 percent do not want expensive original preparations and are satisfied with generics

In order to curb healthcare costs, 80 percent of all Swiss are prepared to forego expensive original preparations and use cheaper generic drugs instead - if they were rewarded for this in the form of premium discounts. Half of those surveyed would consider a discount of up to 15 percent to be appropriate, while 40 percent would demand a premium reduction of 15 to 30 percent. For Felix Schneuwly, it is clear that the population responds critically and reasonably to surveys, but is too gullible when it comes to illness. "Patients already have the opportunity to have a say in the choice between generics and original preparations. In everyday life, however, too few people question what the doctor prescribes and the pharmacist dispenses." One in two patients is also open to telmed solutions that require a telephone consultation before going to the doctor or pharmacy - in return for a lower premium.

Swiss policyholders feel well informed

When asked whether they felt well informed about the health insurance system and the existing options for deductibles and insurance models, 70 percent of Swiss respondents answered in the affirmative. Only 30 percent answered in the negative. In the overall assessment, the Swiss population's view of the healthcare system is predominantly positive: Two-thirds are satisfied with the healthcare system (14 percent very satisfied, 53 percent somewhat satisfied) and one-third are dissatisfied with it (10 percent very dissatisfied, 22 percent somewhat dissatisfied).

Lower administrative costs than people think

Last but not least, the current survey shows that respondents can also be wrong in their assessments. For example, they often estimate the administrative costs of health insurers too high. 68 percent are convinced that more than 11 percent of their premium payments are spent on marketing, advertising and administration. One-fifth even think it is more than 20 percent. In fact, the share of administrative costs averaged 5.5 percent in 2016 - and was thus 0.2 percentage points lower than in the previous year. Felix Schneuwly from comparis.ch explains the overestimated administrative costs with the strong advertising presence of the health insurance companies.

Methodology: The representative survey was conducted by Innofact AG on behalf of comparis.ch conducted in September 2017 among 1030 Swiss residents aged 18 to 74 in all parts of the country.