Healthcare costs Baume-Schneider: "Further reforms will be needed"

For Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, the Yes to the uniform financing of all healthcare services is an important step towards reform. However, further reforms will be needed in the healthcare system, she told the media in Bern on Sunday.

The uniform financing of outpatient and inpatient treatment as well as long-term care will benefit patients, but also the insured, said the Health Minister. And the decision would help to curb the rise in health insurance premiums.

Baume-Schneider explained that all players in the healthcare system had taken their responsibility with the Efas proposal (uniform financing of outpatient and inpatient care). Together, they had taken an important step and shown that the healthcare system was not blocked.

It was about a new, uniform distribution formula for treatment costs, said Baume-Schneider, addressing those people who had rejected the bill, particularly in French-speaking Switzerland. The other topics and problems remain on the agenda.

More reforms will be needed in the healthcare system. One of these is the implementation of the care initiative, which the people and cantons approved in 2021. And other discussions are still ongoing. Parliament is discussing cost-containment measures and a round table of all healthcare stakeholders is setting savings targets.

The basic care agenda is also expected to be launched next Tuesday. In order to ensure that everyone continues to have access to good basic medical care, Baume-Schneider wants to work with the players in the healthcare sector to develop an agenda for basic care with proposed measures.

The change will be introduced gradually. For acute treatments, the switch to the new financing system will take place from 2028, for long-term care from 2032. Parliament had decided on this staggering.

SDA