Curafutura is in favor of competition among insurers and thus also in favor of advertising
95% of the compulsory health insurance premiums (AOMS) goes to pay doctors' bills, drugs, hospital treatment and laboratory tests, while only 5% covers administrative costs. Advertising expenses account for only 0.3%. The parliamentary initiative to completely abolish advertising for basic insurance, debated by the chambers this week, seems to be mainly aimed at promoting the idea of a single health insurance fund at the cantonal or national level, under the pretext of reducing the financial burden on the insured. Curafutura strongly opposes this proposal, stressing that only through concrete reforms can real savings be achieved. A single health insurance fund would restrict policyholders' freedom of choice and lead to an increase in the administrative apparatus, as is often the case when the state takes over.
curafutura supports transparency in the health insurance industry by clearly disclosing its administrative costs, which account for less than 5% of basic insurance costs, while advertising expenses are only 0.3%. The parliamentary initiative to abolish advertising raises concern for those who defend policyholders' freedom of choice and believe in competition as a means of ensuring fair prices, low administrative costs, and freedom in insurer and product choice. curafutura suspects that this proposal may pave the way for the creation of a single cantonal or national health insurance fund.
Insurers strive to keep advertising expenditures low in the interest of the insured, while the FOPH verifies that administrative costs remain at the level necessary for sound economic management. To contain healthcare costs, it is important to avoid the expansion of the catalog of basic insurance benefits, promote digitization, and implement the uniform EFAS financing system on schedule.
Curafutura calls for an assessment of the true goals of the parliamentary initiative and contextualization of advertising expenditures. Implementing proposals such as the one submitted by the Canton of Vaud, which calls for amendments to the Health Insurance Act to establish a cantonal agency to set and collect premiums, would result in significant changes in the principles of the KVG, undermining innovation and creating complicated and costly parallel systems.
