Mandatory health insurance will cost much more in 2023. According to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), the insurance premiums will go up by an average of 6.6 percent. But there are still major differences in health insurance costs between Switzerland’s regions.
The independent online comparison service moneyland.ch analyzed regional health insurance premiums. For the analysis, moneyland.ch calculated the weighted average premiums for the German-, French-, and Italian-speaking regions.
Residents of French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino will have to pay substantially more than people in German-speaking Switzerland. In 2023, the average premium in the Romandie will be around 18 percent higher than the German-speaking area, while in Ticino it will be 20 percent higher.
The per-capita healthcare costs in French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino are also higher than in German-speaking Switzerland. “The massive differences in premiums between French- and German-speaking Switzerland can be traced back to differences in healthcare costs between these regions,” clarifies moneyland.ch analysts Felix Oeschger.
A huge premium divide
The weighted average premium for adult residents aged 26 and older is 387 francs per month in German-speaking Switzerland, and 455 francs per month in French-speaking Switzerland. “Based on average premiums, residents of the Romandie will pay 800 francs more over the coming year than those in German-speaking Switzerland,” says moneyland.ch CEO Benjamin Manz.
Young adults aged 19 to 25 will also experience price differences across linguistic regions. The average health insurance premium for young adults in French-speaking Switzerland is 331 francs per month, compared to 273 francs per month in the German-speaking region.
The same tendency is seen in the youngest age group as well. The average monthly insurance premium for children up to the age of 18 is 107 francs in German-speaking Switzerland, and 124 francs in French-speaking Switzerland.
Ticino is now more expensive than the Romandie
Adult residents of Ticino will have to deal with an average monthly premium of 465 francs in the coming year. “Based on average premiums, Ticinesi will pay 936 francs more over the coming year than residents of German-speaking Switzerland. That is a huge difference,” says moneyland.ch analyst Oeschger.
That also means that for the first time, residents of Ticino will pay more for health insurance than those of French-speaking Switzerland. Things looked very different in the past. For example, in 2018 the average monthly premium for an adult in the Romandie was around 29 francs higher than the average monthly premium in Ticino. The fact that Ticinesi will now pay higher premiums than French-speaking Swiss is the result of the above-average hikes in health insurance premiums in Switzerland’s southernmost canton. “The 9-percent spike in the average cost of health insurance for adult residents of Ticino is substantially higher than the countrywide average,” points out moneyland.ch CEO Benjamin Manz.
Linguistic divide in Valais
In 2023 too, health insurance premiums in the French-speaking part of Valais are going up more than those in the German-speaking portion. The average premium across districts where German is the predominant language is 350 francs per month, compared to 380 francs per month in French-speaking districts. That is a difference of 30 francs per month.
The cheapest cantons
Adult residents of the canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden will experience the biggest price hike, at 9.5 percent, according to the FOPH. But even then, the average monthly premium of 291 francs per month is still the lowest of any Swiss canton. The next most affordable cantons are Uri (311 francs), Zug (323 francs), and Nidwalden (324 francs).
With the exception of Luzern, insurance premiums in central Switzerland will once again be exceptionally affordable in 2023. Out of the 41 analyzed premium districts, the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, Obwalden, Nidwalden and Zug are all in the lowest quarter.
City-dwellers pay higher premiums
The most expensive average insurance premiums for adults are found in the two largely-urbanized cantons of Basel-Stadt at 503 francs per month, and Geneva at 502 francs per month. These are followed by Neuchâtel (475 francs) and Ticino (470 francs).
This pattern is visible within cantons which have multiple health insurance premium districts as well. The average premium in the canton of Bern’s first premium district, which included the cities of Bern and Biel, is 461 francs, while average premiums for its second and third districts are much lower at 408 francs and 378 francs respectively.
A similar picture is seen in the canton of Zurich. The average premium in the first premium district, which includes the city of Zurich, is the most expensive at 441 francs per month. The average premium in the second district (which includes the city of Winterthur and many municipalities on Lake Zurich) is 391 francs per month. That of the canton’s third district, which does not have any cities, is 363 francs.
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