Switzerland’s government is pressing ahead with plans to raise the minimum annual health-insurance deductible from CHF 300 to CHF 400, reports RTS. The proposal has exposed familiar political divisions: parties on the right and health insurers support it, while the left, trade unions and cities oppose it. The Centre Party and the cantons occupy a middle ground.
Under Switzerland’s compulsory health-insurance system, policyholders pay the first CHF 300 of annual medical costs themselves before insurers begin reimbursing expenses. Patients must then cover 10% of subsequent costs up to a capped amount. The government argues that increasing the deductible would strengthen personal responsibility and help curb healthcare spending.
The consultation on the proposal closed on Monday. The Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) and PLR/FDP argue that the minimum deductible has remained unchanged for more than two decades despite steadily rising healthcare costs. They, along with the insurers’ association Prio.swiss, say the increase is long overdue and would ease pressure on premium increases, particularly for middle-income households.
The UDC/SVP would go further. It wants the minimum deductible to rise automatically every five years in line with healthcare costs, beginning with an increase to CHF 450. It also proposes raising the maximum co-payment to CHF 1,200 and introducing age-related deductibles and co-payments for newly arrived foreign residents and cross-border workers.
Opponents argue that the proposal would widen inequalities rather than reduce costs. The Socialist Party, the trade union federation, the professional association Avenir Social and the Swiss Union of Cities say the higher deductible would fall hardest on older people, low-income households and those with chronic illnesses. Women would also be disproportionately affected because they use the healthcare system more are more likely to choose the minimum deductible.
According to a consumer organisation, almost one in five people in Switzerland postponed or avoided seeing a doctor in 2025 because of financial concerns. Critics argue that higher deductibles would encourage more people to delay treatment, potentially leading to poorer health outcomes and higher costs later. The organisation has launched a petition calling for the proposal to be abandoned.
They also contend that the reform would merely shift costs from insurers to cantons and municipalities. The city of Zurich, for example, estimates that it would face around CHF 2m a year in additional expenditure.
The Swiss Conference of Cantonal Health Directors supports a one-off increase to CHF 400, describing it as socially acceptable, but is sceptical of automatically linking future increases to healthcare costs.
The Centre Party takes a similar position. It supports raising the deductible but wants to assess the impact before introducing an automatic adjustment mechanism. The party also argues that lasting reductions in healthcare spending will require broader structural reforms rather than simply asking patients to pay more out of pocket.
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