Information about premiums in 2023
The health insurance premiums serve to cover the costs of the population’s medical care. The premiums for each policyholder can vary greatly, however, because the premium is influenced by numerous factors:
1. Rising healthcare costs
The premiums in compulsory basic insurance reflect healthcare costs. So, the more sharply the costs of medical treatments rise in a given year, the more premiums will rise in the following year.
No doubt you’ll have already seen in the press that healthcare costs in Switzerland have risen much faster than expected. On the one hand, there is a catch-up effect – in other words, policyholders have made up for numerous treatments and operations in recent months that could not be carried out during the coronavirus pandemic. On the other, the costs of outpatient treatments such as physiotherapy, psychotherapy and home care have risen sharply. Although Sympany expected costs to rise, the actual costs have turned out to be much higher than predicted.
Sympany is trying to cushion cost rises and premium increases, for example by reducing its reserves: www.sympany.ch/reduction-of-reserves
Nevertheless, increases unfortunately cannot be avoided as our premiums have to cover our actual costs. It is a legal requirement.
Further measures taken by Sympany include checking invoices carefully to identify excessively high or incorrect claims and the promoting generics to reduce the cost of medication.
2. No more discounts for children and young adults
For basic insurance, children up to and including the age of 18 will receive a children’s discount (72–77%). Young adults up to and including the age of 25 will benefit from a young person’s discount (25%) for basic insurance. After these ages, these discounts will lapse from the beginning of the following calendar year. This is stipulated by the Swiss Federal Law on Sickness Insurance (KVG). In 2023, this will affect policyholders born in 2004 and 1997.
3. Changes to age groups for supplementary insurance policies
Premiums for supplementary insurance are graded according to age group. Moving to the next age group will result in a premium adjustment. In the most common supplementary insurance policies – such as the outpatient supplementary insurance policies plus and premium and supplementary hospital insurance – these age groups apply: up to 18, 19 up to and including 25, then 5-year increments up to 60, 61 to 70 and 71 to 80 years. Premiums remain unchanged from the age of 81.
4. Other factors
Other factors that may influence the premium amount for supplementary insurance policies include:
- Change of residence or canton
- Changes to family structure
- Individual no-claims bonuses can lapse when you claim benefits again.
Save on your health insurance premiums
In basic and supplementary insurance policies, there are a number of ways in which policyholders can save on premiums. For example, you can choose an alternative insurance model or adjust your excess: www.sympany.ch/save
In addition, each and every one of us can help to curb rising healthcare costs through our own behaviour: request generics instead of branded preparations at your doctor’s surgery or pharmacy, only use the hospital’s emergency department in the event of a real emergency, etc.
Residence in Switzerland
Changes in premiums for policyholders
Residence abroad
Changes in premiums for policyholders