Switzerland and Private Healthcare
“Switzerland offers the best healthcare in the world,” was the conclusion of Pacific Prime, one of the world’s leading global health insurance brokerages. Switzerland ranked first in the 2018 European Health Consumer Index, while the World Health Organization ranked it twentieth overall in the world.
The emphasis on health insurance coverage comes from the government’s mandate that all Swiss citizens must have private health insurance, secured through government-approved private insurance providers. Who is eligible? That’s not even a question: healthcare insurance is required of every person residing in Switzerland. Patients have the flexibility of choosing their own insurance providers. The policies offered by private insurers cover all medical examinations and treatments and must provide a basic level of healthcare, at affordable rates, regardless of the citizen’s age, sex, or medical condition. Insurance providers are not permitted to make a profit of their basic insurance plans.
Patients pay up to 8 percent of their personal income toward the cost of their basic insurance plan. If the premiums are more than 8 percent, the government provides the difference through cash subsidies. In addition, low-income residents are eligible for reductions in their insurance premiums. Patients also must pay part of the cost of their medical treatment, in the form of deductibles, ranging from 300 to 500 Swiss Francs, ($338 to $564) as well as 10 percent of the cost of most medical appointments. Beyond the basic plans, there are complementary plans, which vary in price according to age, health, and other factors. Included in this coverage are alternative medicines and dental treatment, and upgrades on hospital rooms.
Sources: “Which Countries Have the Best Healthcare in the World?” Pacific Prime, July 5, 2022, https://www.pacificprime.com/blog/best-healthcare-in-the-world.html (access. Arne Björnberg and Ann Yung Phang, “Euro Health Consumer Index 2018, Health Consumer Powerhouse, 2019, https://healthpowerhouse.com/media/EHCI-2018/EHCI-2018-report.pdf. See also, Theodore R. Marmor, Richard Freeman, and Kieke G. H. Okma, eds., Comparative Studies and the Politics of Modern Medical Care (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009).
