Breakdown of Swiss health care expenditure, 2008, main categories in Swiss francs: top to bottom, administration, prevention, sales of healthcare products, auxiliary services, ambulatory care, hospital care (Source: Swiss Federal Statistics Office)
Neuchatel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Switzerland spent CHF58.5 billion on health care in 2008, or CHF632 per person, figures published 9 November by the federal government show. Healthcare accounted for 10.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), a share that remains virtually unchanged, although spending itself rose by 5.9 percent and was above the 3.5 percent average increase for the previous five years. GDP also rose in 2008, by 4.4 percent.
The health spending increase puts Switzerland in third place internationally for healthcare costs as a share of GDP, after the United States, 16 percent and France, 11.2 percent. Germany and Austria have fourth and fifth places with 10.5 percent each.
The new figures were released 20 days before the deadline for Swiss residents to change their insurance company for 2011. An important change from one of the main insurers, Intras, for 2011 will affect policy holders’ pharmaceutical payments: in the past the pharmacies billed the insurance company directly, but Intras in future will insist that patients pay their bills, then ask for reimbursement. The move has prompted some discussion about the legality of the change and some pharmacies have written to regular customers to suggest they change insurance companies. A pharmacist in the Morges region told GenevaLunch, however, that Intras may be the largest but is not the first insurance company to make the change, and that there appears to be a trend to move in this direction, with large insurance groups having one of their insurance companies at a time make the change.
Comparis provides comparative health insurance pricing in the run-up to the insurance change deadline.
The Swiss spent CHF37.5m in 2008 on four main categories that account for 61 percent of overall costs: Read more…
Swiss roads: nice, when you're moving
Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The number of hours the Swiss spent in traffic jams fell to 10 048 in 2008, the lowest in seven years, the federal roads department says, and this despite a 1 percent increase in traffic on Swiss roads last year. The increase was smaller than in recent years, however, which has averaged 2.4 percent. While the reasons for the drop are not clear, the rhythm was normal at the start of the year but fell in the second half of the year, suggesting a link to the weaker economy, says the government. Zurich was the black spot, with 2,794 hours of jams, compared to 697 hours around Lausanne and 228 near Geneva.
Drivers increased the hours spent in jams due to heavier traffic, but the number of hours due to roadworks was down sharply, by some 40 percent.
Lucerne's bridge, reputed to be the most photographed site in Switzerland
Neuchatel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Foreign tourists continued to visit Switzerland at a strong rate in 2008, despite the start of the economic crisis, spending CHF15.6 billion, up by more than CHF1 million over 2007. The increase of 6.7 percent was offset, for the balance of payments, by a 2.3 percent drop in the amount Swiss tourists spent abroad. Overall, the trade balance was positive, at CHF3.8 billion.
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Geneva's top wines are often red
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The Swiss carried on drinking wine in much the same way in 2008 as in 2007, consuming 2.78 million hectolitres (1 hectolitre = 100 litres or 22 gallons) of wine, roughly 36 bottles per person for the year for the permanent population of 7.7 million. But they drank less red wine from abroad, down 3 percent, and more foreign white wine, up 5.1 percent, the Swiss agriculture ministry says. Red wine continues to dominate, despite foreigners’ common perception that Switzerland is a land of white wines: 69 percent of wine consumed last year was red.
Updated 8 April 08:10 Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The canton of Geneva will not see the likes of it again before 2012-2013, says David Hiler, finance director for the canton, who Tuesday 7 April announced results for 2008: a surplus of CHF492 million for the budget of CHF7.2 billion. Le Temps Wednesday morning shows a more dire picture in its analysis of the situation, noting that some costs, such as staffing, have risen and that while the city’s infamous debt has been reduced to CHF11.4 billion, it remains “astronomical.” Zurich, Le Temps notes in its article, is ending 2008 with a deficit of CHF179.3, largely due to the banking sector crisis.
Updated 12:30 Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Preliminary figures for Swiss gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2008 show 1.6% growth (at constant previous year prices) and 3.9% at current prices, based on averages of the four quarters. The estimated figures were released 3 March with Bern’s fourth quarter GDP report. But Q4 figures showed a fall, the second quarterly slip in a row, technically putting Switzerland into a recession (TSR, Fre).
Neuchatel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The Swiss population grew by 1.4% in 2008, to 7.7 million people, according to provisional figures released by the federal statistical office. The 1,800 weddings on 08.08.08 played a role in the higher number of marriages, part of the population change figures released.
2009: stormy days for airlines
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Airlines around the world are expected to lose $5 billion in 2008, of which European airlines will lose $1b, a 10-fold drop. Overall, revenues will fall to $501b with losses rather than profits the story in every region except North America, where profits will be less than 1% of revenue.
Switzerland (Bilan, TSR) – Roger Federer is the newcomer, Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad possibly has the most stable fortune and the Latsis family has lost CHF4 billion, Thomas Schmidheiny is down by CHF3b. When the tallies are done, the assets of the wealthiest 300 people in Switzerland, at CHF459 billion, come to nearly as much as the country’s GDP (gross domestic product, CHF512b.
