Health insurance companies are launching a campaign to try to correct a perceived lack of information about the Swiss health system among the wider public.
Santésuisse, the association of health insurers, said a survey among 1,200 people found that only about half of respondents knew about the tasks and the costs of insurers.
The organisation added that the system of managed care, including setting up a network of doctors, to curb increasing healthcare costs was fairly well known but that more information was necessary to explain it.
The survey follows a study sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry, which claimed that fewer than 30 per cent of people considered joining a managed care system that would control access to specialist doctors and hospitals.
A plan to introduce managed care is currently under discussion in parliament. Moves are also underway to launch an initiative for a single health insurance company.
Basic health insurance coverage was made mandatory in 1996, but spiraling health care costs have been a political issue for more than 20 years.
Switzerland’s health system is considered one of the best – and most expensive – in the world.
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