Krankenkassenprämien – Kantone zahlen Millionen an unbezahlten Prämien

Article:

>__Health insurance companies are left with premium bills totalling several hundred million every year. The most important facts in brief__

>__That’s the point__: Health insurance premiums will become more expensive again next year. Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider announced an average price increase of six per cent on Thursday. Not only private households are likely to be affected by the renewed price increase, but also the public sector. The cantons already pay out around CHF 6.3 billion for premium reductions. And there is yet another cost item: outstanding health insurance premiums.

>__This is the order of magnitude:__ Around CHF 315 million – this is how much the cantons paid back to the health insurance companies last year for unpaid premium invoices. Even if this figure has fallen slightly in the recent past: Compared to the total ten years ago, it is now over 41 per cent higher.

>__How a payment default occurs:__ If an insured person does not pay their premiums or co-payments, they first receive a reminder, then a payment request, and finally debt collection proceedings are initiated against them. This procedure is carried out by the health insurance company.

>__When will the canton pay my premiums?__ Insurance companies must report debt collection to the relevant cantonal authorities. If no other person is liable for the amount owed, the cantons are obliged to pay the premiums. The outstanding bill is paid 85 per cent by the canton and 15 per cent by the health insurance companies.

>__These are the consequences for defaulting insured persons:__ The cantons can enter insured persons who do not fulfil their premium obligation despite debt collection on a list. Health insurance companies may then refuse to cover the costs of medical treatment – with the exception of emergency treatment. As soon as the outstanding amounts are paid, the health insurance company notifies the cantonal authority that the person is to be removed from the list.

>__The canton of Geneva pays the most:__ In 2023, the canton of Geneva recorded the highest outstanding premiums at over CHF 45 million, followed by the canton of Zurich with around CHF 40 million and the canton of Vaud with CHF 38 million. The cantons with the lowest repayment amounts are Appenzell Innerrhoden, Obwalden and Uri, which have low populations.

>__Unclear consequences of a minimum deductible:__ Rising health insurance premiums are becoming a debt trap, says Philipp Frei, Managing Director of the umbrella organisation Budgetberatung Schweiz, and often the only option is private bankruptcy. If the Council of States has its way, the minimum deductible should now be increased from CHF 300 to CHF 500. The SVP justified its proposal in parliament by saying that this would reduce costs. “For people who can’t pay their health insurance bill anyway, this is a slap in the face,” says debt counsellor Frei.

Okay, so there’s obviously some very galling inefficiency here that should be fixed but CHF 315 million nationwide doesn’t strike me as particularly bad? It’s like CHF 35 per capita vs a total healthcare expense, public and private of almost CHF 10K per capita per year.