Last week Switzerland’s federal administration published this year’s health insurance refunds. The largest sums were awarded to the residents of Geneva and Vaud.
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In 2014, the Swiss parliament decided to compensate the insured for excessive health insurance premiums charged between the beginning of 1996 and the end of 2013. The difference between premiums paid and the cost of the health services provided was found to be too high in some cantons and too low in others.
Parliament agreed to reimburse CHF 800 million of the CHF 1.6 billion over paid over three years, starting in 2015. The payments are funded by the government, insurance companies and the residents of cantons that under paid.
The total amount to be reimbursed this year comes to CHF 188 million.
Residents of cantons qualifying for refunds in 2016 include: Zurich (CHF 37.00), Zug (CHF 13.35), Fribourg (CHF 16.25), Appenzell Innerrhoden (CHF 20.75), Graubunden (CHF 0.45), Thurgau (CHF 48.10), Ticino (CHF 60.75), Vaud (CHF 86.05) and Geneva (CHF 57.30). Anyone who was resident in one of these cantons on 1 January 2016 qualifies for the refund, which will be distributed partly via reduced premiums and partly via direct payments.
Residents in the cantons of Bern, Ury, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Glarus, Solothurn, Basel-Landschaft, Schaffhausen, Aargau and Jura have already paid an extra CHF 48, while those in Luzerne have paid an extra CHF 18 for 2016. These supplements effectively meant a reduction in the CHF 62.40 environmental tax redistribution paid to every Swiss resident via reductions to their health insurance premiums.
More on this:
Federal office of public health press release (in French)
Federal office of public health press release (in German)
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