Health Care Without Boarders
...Health Care without Borders
Table of contents
1. Introduction 4
2. Swiss Health Insurance 6
2.1 Mandatory Basic Health Insurance 6
2.1.1 Insured Persons 6
2.1.2 Risks Covered and Benefits 7
2.1.3 Costs of the Mandatory Basic Health Insurance 7
2.2 Supplementary Health Insurance 8
2.2.1 Insured Persons 8
2.2.2 Risks Covered and Benefits 8
2.2.3 Costs of the Supplementary Health Insurance 9
2.3 Revision of the Swiss Health Insurance Law 9
2.3.1 Easing of the Territorial Principle 10
2.3.2 Transborder Pilot Projects 11
3. Impacts of Health Tourism on the Swiss Economy 13
3.1 Importance of the Health Care Sector for the Swiss Economy 13
3.2 Competitiveness of Swiss Hospitals 13
3.2.1 Further Easing of the Territorial Principle 14
3.3 Unemployment Rate 15
3.4 Impact on GDP 15
4. Positive Implications of Health Tourism 17
4.1 Helsana and CSS 17
4.2 Cost Reduction 18
4.3 Higher Economic Efficiency 19
4.4 Extended Freedom of Choice 19
4.5 Equally High Levels of Quality 20
4.6 Higher Comfort 21
5. Disadvantages of Health Tourism 22
5.1 Lower Level of Quality in Germany 22
5.2 Unfair Competition for Swiss Hospitals 23
5.3 Allocation of Complex Cases 24
5.4 Suspension of Employees 24
5.5 No Easing of the Territorial Principle within Switzerland 24
6. Conclusion 26
7. Bibliography 28
8. Appendix 32
1. Introduction
The issue of health tourism is a burning theme nowadays and so far no measure has been proven effective in reducing health costs up to present. Since 1950, health costs have increased rapidly in Switzerland. Whereas expenditures for health care only amounted to 3.5 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in 1950, they accounted for 11.5 percent of the GDP in 2003, equaling an amount of 50 billion Swiss francs (Oggier "Gesundheitskosten").
Along with incessantly rising health costs, Swiss insurance companies have...
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