Sickness funds, a salary cap? 'Symbolic policy' (cross-border guide)

Context

In a nutshell

• The Federal Council proposes to limit the salaries of sickness fund managers. Insurers argue that this will not have a significant impact on premiums. The proposal was put forward to reduce healthcare spending.

Key facts

• The proposal of the Federal Council. The salaries of the directors of the sickness funds. The impact on rewards. * Healthcare expenditure.

The Federal Council has proposed to limit the salaries of sickness fund managers, with the aim of reducing healthcare spending. The proposal was presented as a measure to contain public health costs. However, insurers argue that this will not have a significant impact on premiums.

According to the source, the cap on sickness fund executives' salaries will not have a significant effect on bonuses and administrative costs. In 2025, executive salaries cost on average 24 cents per month per insured and accounted for 1.5% of administrative costs. This means that even if the salary cap were applied, administrative costs would not be significantly impacted.

Insurers argue that the Federal Council's proposal is a 'symbolic policy'. According to them, health expenditure is mainly generated by the costs of care and services, which account for almost 95% of the costs. The Federal Council's proposal focuses on a marginal part of the

Operational details

Insurers argue that the Federal Council's proposal is a 'symbolic policy'. The director of prio.swiss, Saskia Schenker, criticised the Federal Council's proposal.

According to her, the proposal will not have a significant impact on premiums and administrative costs. “The Federal Council's proposal is a cost containment measure, but it does not solve the real problem of healthcare spending,” said Saskia Schenker.

The proposal of the Federal Council provides for a cap on the salaries of doctors and health professionals.

For example, in 2022, healthcare spending in Switzerland was around CHF 35.5 billion. Care and performance costs accounted for about 95% of this expenditure, while administrative and management costs accounted for about 5%.

According to insurers, health expenditure is mainly generated by the costs of care and benefits, which account for almost 95% of the costs.

According to the proposal, the cap on the salaries of doctors and health professionals would be around CHF 200,000 per year.

The Federal Council's proposal also envisages introducing a rule obliging nursing homes and healthcare facilities to reduce costs.

According to the proposal, the rule would apply to all health facilities in the country, including those in the cantons of Bern, Zurich and Geneva.

Operational checklists

• Set a ceiling on doctors' and professionals' salaries

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Key points

The Federal Council is proposing to limit the salaries of sickness fund managers, a measure aimed at reducing healthcare spending. However, insurers argue that this proposal will not have a significant impact on premiums. The director of prio.swiss, Saskia Schenker, criticised the Federal Council's proposal, arguing that it will not have a significant impact on premiums and administrative costs.

Insurers argue that the Federal Council's proposal is a 'symbolic policy'. For example, in the Canton of Ticino, care and benefit costs amount to around CHF 4.5 billion per year, while the salaries of sickness fund managers represent only 0.5% of these costs.

The proposal of the Federal Council was presented to reduce health spending. For example, if the costs of care and benefits amount to 4.5 billion Swiss francs per year, reducing the salaries of sickness fund managers by 10% could reduce spending by only 450 thousand Swiss francs per year.

The legislation regulating the salaries of sickness fund managers is the Federal Sickness Fund Act of 1996, which provides that the salaries of sickness fund managers may not exceed the ceiling set by the Confederation. However, the Confederation has not yet established a specific cap on the salaries of sickness fund executives.

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Source: rsi.ch