Health Systems in Switzerland essay

4% of its GDP on health and it as ranked as the most competitive nation in the world by the world economic forum in 2010. In Switzerland, healthcare is universal and it is financed by mandatory health insurance which is in turn regulated by the federal health insurance act of 1994. The healthcare system of Switzerland constitutes of the public, subsidized and all-private systems, and the insured parties all exercising a free choice among the relevant providers of health services. Individuals are also allowed to exercise their freedom of choice when deciding on insurance companies, which are required to apply equality and not discriminate against any applicant. In 2015, the life expectancy at birth in Switzerland was 83. However, much more actions need to be taken to correct the present problem of non-communicable diseases in an incorporated way, encircling these behaviouraldeterminants so as to mitigate their incidence in Switzerland and the consequent costs for the health system (Kaderli, Pfortmueller, & Businger, 2012).

Health is expensive in terms of the costs of care, diagnosis and rehabilitation as well as the societal development which is lost at the expense of health. In the European regions, non-communicable diseases such as mental disorders have a significant overall economic impact of many billions of euros used every year. Controlling the multiple and complex risk factors for non-communicable diseases like obesity needs a shift of the Swiss health system from curative care to coordinated and preventive care. Non-communicable diseases pose complex problems that require coordinated action by various interested parties such as industry, government and professional bodies since none of the bodies can make a meaningful success to moderate the burden of the problem alone (Kaderli, Pfortmueller, & Businger, 2012). Clear legal mandates have been formulated and implemented to allow federal employees to lead in the protection of the country against radiological or chemical contamination and communicable diseases.

However, despite of this improvement, coordination matters can occur in executing policy as was the case in the country’s response to influenza pandemic in 2009. Also, there have numerous efforts to coordinate the direction of alcohol-related health risks in Switzerland which demonstrate progress in developing a coalition of support ("OECD Better Life Index," n. d. Nevertheless, other than the recent smoking ban, there are no population-wide preventive measures that have been introduced in recent years which would otherwise result in greatest gains to health. This law aimed to impose minimal regulatory requirements and to subsidize recognized health insurers. Over the years, numerous revisions have been made over the years in efforts to clarify the benefits of the insurance coverage and facilitate its portability ("Switzerland: Regarding Health System Reform," 2015).

In addition, concerns about the provision of high quality services, equity of coverage and rising costs of health care resulted in the implementation of a new health insurance law in 1994 which offers a key platform on which the Swiss compulsory health insurance functions today. Presently, the mandatory health insurance finances about a third of the total health costs in Switzerland. Insurers design premium rates based on the community to avoid differentiation on risk basis. The main objective of this reform was to make sure that all citizens had access to basic care and so as to achieve this, the law obligesthat all Swiss citizens buy health covers from a private insurance company. The insurers must also charge a constant price to all people for a given health plan.

Insurers are also required by the reform to accept all applicants and insure them for a basic package of services determined by the Swiss government on the basis of efficiency, appropriateness and medical effectiveness (Braun & Uhlmann, 2009). Since insurers must accept and cover all applicants, there is the need to equalize risks among insurers. This is conducted by a government body whose responsibility is to redistribute funds from lower risk health plans to higher risk plans. This reform has ensured that all hospitals receive payment from insurers through a system called diagnosis-related group. This system compensates hospitals based on the case rather than a fee-for-service model. The DRG system discourages long stays in the hospital as well as incentivizes use of best practices.

The Future Health of the Swiss Population Currently, the Swiss residents enjoy access to a vast array of choice in healthcare providers and insurers as well as a variety of healthcare services. However, the WHO and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development warn that the health system must adopt to the rising chronic diseases like diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease even though it is among the best in the world ("Health: Switzerland’s health system is high-performing but must prepare for the future - OECD," n. The Swiss federal government’s 2020 strategy paper on health gives an outline of reform main concerns for the forthcoming years. It describes four key parts for policy action which include: • Transparency • Quality of life • Quality of health care provision • Equality of opportunity Numerous reform activities continue in each of these priority areas of action and three key areas form part of these actions.