Swiss voters back single-payer health insurance

[eridani]

http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/swiss_news/Swiss_voters_back_single-payer_health_insurance.html?cid=36250986

The proposal of creating a single fund for health insurance would be accepted by voters if the ballot for the initiative were held today, according to a poll commissioned by the pharmaceutical lobby group Interpharma.

About 65 per cent of the population would approve the proposal and 28 per cent would reject it, according to the first poll conducted on the issue. The result is still not very conclusive, as only about 31 per cent of people surveyed said they would actually participate in the vote.

In 2014 or 2015, the initiative for public health insurance will be put to a nationwide vote, which if accepted will see current providers of basic cover replaced by a single public fund. Under Swiss law, health insurance is compulsory, and residents currently may choose between offerings of about 60 companies which provide coverage.

The initiative – supported by the centre-left Social Democrats and by the Greens as well as by patient and consumer organisations – would leave only supplemental insurance in the hands of private companies.

The survey was conducted as part of the 2013 Health Monitor by GfS Bern research and polling institute. The Health Monitor also showed that three out of four people in Switzerland view the health system in Switzerland positively, the highest share ever.

[eridani]

1. Visibility kick n/t

[liberal_at_heart]

2. Social Democrats being the key phrase there. We have corporate democrats. That's why we can't get

single payer health care. We need democrats that represent the people, not corporations. Until we have that all of our social programs will be under attack.

[pampango]

3. Good that the Swiss look likely move on from their current public/private insurance system

to a fully public one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_Switzerland

[roamer65]

4. We eventually will follow the same route.

It's the next step after a highly regulated private system.