Swiss health-insurance premiums are likely to rise by around 5% in 2027, reflecting persistent growth in healthcare spending, the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) warned on Tuesday. Officials nevertheless cautioned that forecasts remain uncertain.
Premiums for 2026 do not fully cover expected costs, Philipp Muri, head of insurance supervision at the FOPH told RTS.
Healthcare spending surged in 2025, rising by CHF 247 ($320) per person, or 5.2% year on year—the sharpest increase in eight years. Mr Muri said this would probably trigger a catch-up effect in premiums. In general, premiums rise at the same pace as costs, he noted. Insurers currently expect healthcare costs to increase by nearly 5% again in 2026 – why costs are rising according to FOPH.
In the first quarter of this year, costs rose by about 2.9%, according to the FOPH. The increase was broad-based, with outpatient care, nursing services and psychotherapy showing particularly strong growth.
Officials warned, however, that the figures should be treated cautiously because many outpatient services have yet to be billed under TARDOC, a new medical-tariff system introduced this year. More reliable estimates from the KOF Swiss Economic Institute at ETH Zurich are due at the end of June.
Even so, the direction of travel appears clear. Demographic ageing and a rising number of medical consultations have long pushed costs higher.
Pierre-Alain Schnegg, the Bernese health minister, argued that the challenge was no longer to reduce healthcare costs but to slow their growth. Lowering healthcare costs is simply not possible, he told RTS. Instead, policymakers should aim to limit increases compared with recent years. Mr Schnegg, a member of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP), called on healthcare providers to avoid unnecessary duplication of services.
For the FOPH, cost control remains a permanent task. Kristian Schneider, the agency’s deputy director, said the TARDOC system was functioning well broadly, though some adjustments were still needed.
The government has already approved savings worth around CHF 300m from 2026 onwards, while further cost-cutting measures are under discussion.
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