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Good news for policyholders in most cantons: health insurance premiums in the coming year will only increase moderately. Ticino and Jurassic people are affected above average.
Health insurance premiums will increase on average 0.5 percent in 2021. (Symbol image)
(mg) The average premium in 2021 will be CHF 316.50, as announced by the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG) on Tuesday. This corresponds to an average increase of 0.5 percent. As in the past two years, this is below the multi-year average for premium increases. Since 2010, premiums have increased by an average of 3.2 percent.
Policyholders in the cantons of Aargau, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Neuchâtel, Obwalden, Schaffhausen, Schwyz and Zurich have special reasons to be happy. In these cantons, the burden of premiums is even decreasing. It is strongest in Appenzell Innerrhoden (-1.6 percent), but it is also clear in Zurich with -0.7 percent.
Rising premiums is the most obvious pressure on the wallets of residents of the cantons of Baselland, Jura, Lucerne, Nidwalden, Thurgau, Ticino and Valais. There, premiums increase by more than 1 percent. Next year the people of Ticino will pay an average of 2.1 percent more, the Jurassic 2 percent. In the rest of the canton, the average increase is less than 1 percent. Premiums are calculated so that they can cover the estimated costs for the next year.
Policyholders can also benefit from excess premium compensation of CHF 183 million and a voluntary reduction of reserves by insurers of CHF 28 million. The BAG has approved these reimbursements to the insured. “That corresponds to a total of 211 million francs that will flow back to the insured,” says the message. For comparison: in the current year, the BAG approved reserve reduction plans for CHF 27 million. A year earlier, he approved compensation payments of 158 million.
Reserves exceed the 11 billion mark for the first time
Overall, insurer reserves would exceed the 11 billion Swiss francs mark in 2020. That’s a new record. In principle, this is positive, writes the Federal Office of Public Health. But “the Federal Council thinks that most insurers still have excessively high reserves.” Last week, the government proposed adjusting the relevant regulation. This is intended to create incentives for health insurers to calculate premiums in the most profitable way possible and to reduce excess reserves.
The Federal Council proposal is currently being debated. There is also another proposal, which the government hopes to reduce the burden of the premium: with the second package of measures in the cost containment program, the state government wants, among other things, to ensure that you must visit a family doctor or group practice before a specialist can be seen. Overall, the Federal Council expects this package to reduce the costs of the healthcare system by just under 1 billion Swiss francs.
