Contents
Santésuisse denies a problem and refers to a federal study. But doctors see a deficit.
With standard childhood cancer therapies, there are ten percent of cases in which the health insurance companies do not cover the costs, says Valérie Braidi-Ketter, Managing Director of Children’s Cancer Switzerland, the umbrella organization of children’s cancer organizations: “This is a big problem from our point of view.”
“For parents who regularly pay their premiums, it is a great shock to learn that their child’s cancer treatment is not covered by insurance.” In complex cases, the costs would not even be covered in 20 percent of cases,” Braidi-Ketter continues. Time is of the essence for young cancer patients.
Inequality depending on the checkout
Valérie Braidi-Ketter says: “Childhood cancer progresses very quickly and action must be taken very quickly to save children’s lives. That’s why we demand that all standard therapies be automatically reimbursed in the future.” It needs equal treatment. It shouldn’t be the case that one insurance company takes on a treatment and another doesn’t.
Childhood cancer progresses very quickly and action must be taken very quickly.
Health insurance companies, on the other hand, dispute this view. Matthias Müller, spokesman for the health insurance association Santésuisse, says: “The therapies are almost always financed by the health insurance, even if, for example, there is no official approval yet. The BAG recently showed this in a report. »
Health insurance association sees no need for action
Müller continues: “Compared to other countries, the chances of healing in Switzerland are very good. Accordingly, we see no fundamental need for action. We have to keep the good system we have today.” But the report that Santésuisse relies on is controversial. Because only a part of the more than 50 health insurance companies has expressed itself in it.
We have to keep today’s good system.
The cancer doctors at the Swiss children’s hospitals publicly question the report. Politically, too, the costs of childhood cancer therapies are currently a hot topic. The federal government also sees a need for action and recently organized a round table on this. However, no solution has yet been found in the conflict between health insurance companies and children’s cancer organizations.