Switzerland’s Federal Council and parliament are seeking to slow the relentless rise in health-insurance premiums by cutting the cost of the country’s bestselling medicines. The government estimates the move could save CHF 350m ($450m) a year, reported RTS.
Nearly a year ago lawmakers approved a package of measures aimed at containing health spending. On Thursday the Federal Council opened a consultation on the necessary regulatory changes. Of the five proposed measures, only one is expected to have a significant financial impact: the introduction of so-called cost-monitoring models that would allow the federal authorities to impose volume-based rebates on high-turnover drugs.
The rebates would apply to roughly 80–100 medicines generating more than CHF 15m in annual sales. These include cancer treatments as well as drugs used for weight loss and rheumatic conditions. Generics and biosimilars, along with the original branded products to which they correspond, would be excluded. The government argues that these products are already subject to price controls and sales-linked rebates, and that high-cost originals face higher patient deductibles.
The targeted medicines account for more than a third of spending on drugs reimbursed under Switzerland’s compulsory health-insurance scheme—around CHF 3bn annually. The planned rebates are expected to trim that bill by about CHF 350m (12%) a year without jeopardising supply. According to the Federal Office of Public Health, the savings would amount to roughly 1% of premiums. They are unlikely to materialise before 2029 or 2030.
The pharmaceutical industry and insurers were involved in drafting the proposals. Political consensus has long held that action on drug prices is necessary, not least because medicines are often cheaper abroad. Over the past decade pharmaceutical spending in Switzerland has risen by more than 50%, making it the second-largest cost component financed through basic insurance premiums.
The original reform package, adopted by the Federal Council in autumn 2022, was intended to slow spending growth across all major areas of care: inpatient, outpatient and pharmaceuticals. Its eventual impact, however, will depend on how stakeholders implement the measures. Parliament diluted the package substantially during deliberations in 2023, abandoning plans to recognise co-ordinated-care networks as new service providers. What remains includes several measures that will not directly reduce costs but aim, among other things, to safeguard the supply of established, lower-cost medicines.
Unfortunately, everyday medicines such as ibuprofen and paracetamol are unlikely to see price cuts. Regulated wholesale and pharmacy margins, together with Switzerland’s distribution and liability framework, keep prices structurally high. As a result, these products typically cost more than ten times as much as in countries such as Britain or the United States, where they are sold in supermarkets and discount chains, such as Costco.
More on this:
RTS article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
For more stories like this on Switzerland follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
