All regions at a glance You will pay the highest premiums in these cantons in 2025

Baum-Schneider provided information on Thursday: Health insurance premiums will rise by an average of six percent. But the increase varies greatly depending on the canton. Here is an overview.

Health insurance premiums will rise by an average of six percent in 2025. The average monthly premium will be CHF 378.70. This was announced by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) on Thursday. This means the increase will be lower than this year's 8.7 percent.

According to the FOPH, the average monthly premium is calculated by adding up all premiums paid in Switzerland and dividing them by the number of insured persons. For adults, the premium will rise by CHF 25.30 to CHF 449.20 in 2025. Young adults will have to pay CHF 16.10 more and thus CHF 314.10. The average premium for children will rise by 6.50 francs to 117.90 francs.

Families suffer from the increase

Families in particular are suffering from the increase. Premiums in the southern cantons - for example in Ticino - are particularly high. At the same time, the lowest salaries in Switzerland are paid there. It is mainly the middle class that is affected.

For the very poor, the canton pays the premiums - more than a third receive a premium reduction there. Nevertheless, many people in Ticino can no longer pay their health insurance bills.

Premiums are also rising particularly sharply in the cantons of Glarus and Jura. Premiums are rising by nine percent in each canton.

In the cantons of Zurich (plus 4.9 percent) and Bern (plus 5.6 percent), the increase is below the national average of six percent. As in the previous year, the people of Basel will be the least affected. They get away with a surcharge of 1.5 percent. Nevertheless, they pay the third-highest premiums in the country.

The reason for the sharp rise in premiums is the costs, which have risen particularly sharply in Ticino. Added to this is the fact that nowhere else in Switzerland is the proportion of pensioners as high as in the southernmost canton. A quarter of the population there is retired.

Consumer protection speaks of a health risk

The Foundation for Consumer Protection sees the rising health insurance premiums as an enormous burden for households with lower and middle incomes. The new prices would result in a health risk, as more and more people would forego necessary medical treatment for financial reasons.

In 2023, this would be the case for a fifth of the Swiss population, Consumer Protection told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Thursday. This is an indictment of a prosperous country like Switzerland.

Consumer protection is urgently calling on the Federal Council and Parliament to take action. Measures such as a reference price system for generics, higher premium reductions and independent checks against incorrect hospital and doctor's bills could curb costs.

According to Consumer Protection, the only option left to consumers is to change their insurance model or health insurance company in order to save money.