Swiss residents may soon face another jump in health insurance premiums. Comparis, a consumer price comparison service, forecasts an average increase of 4% for 2026. This would reflect a projected 3.7% rise in healthcare costs for the same period.
According to Felix Schneuwly, health insurance expert at Comparis, the projected increase would mark a return to rises in line with rising costs after three sharp premium shocks: a 6.6% rise in 2023, 8.7% in 2024 and 6% in 2025.
The real surprise, he suggests, is that premiums did not rise even more in previous years. Between 2018 and 2022, political pressure led insurers to draw down reserves to suppress premium growth, limiting increases to below what underlying costs would have justified. Without this intervention, Schneuwly argues, average annual increases from 2018 to 2025 would have been closer to 3%.
Now that health insurers’ reserves have been rebuilt, he hopes the politically induced volatility in premium setting is nearing its end. “Insurers should be able to use their reserves sensibly, so that every minor fluctuation in costs does not translate into a spike in premiums,” he said.
However, three forces are driving this upward cost pressure. The first is the gradual expansion of the compulsory health insurance benefits package—more treatments are being added, such as weight loss drugs. Second, many hospitals have been running deficits for years and are now demanding higher tariffs for both outpatient and inpatient services. Third, the implementation of Switzerland’s care initiative—designed to improve conditions for nursing staff—will push up costs.
In addition, the chronic shortage of qualified personnel may also trigger long-delayed structural reform in the hospital sector, Schneuwly believes.
More on this:
Comparis article (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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