New healthcare models to reduce costs and improve care quality in Switzerland

Healthcare costs and inequities in access to care are pressing challenges in Switzerland. Addressing these issues requires innovative approaches that align population needs with affordable, sustainable care solutions.

New initiatives in Switzerland are emerging and involve a change in the financing system. They are so-called capitation models. In a capitation model, a fixed amount of money is paid per patient and unit of time to cover all delivery care services. It’s a move away from the traditional fee-for-service in place in Switzerland, in which individual services are paid for. Capitation models are employed in other parts of the world, for example in United Kingdom or the USA. It remains open to see if / how these and other systems could ease the financing of healthcare in Switzerland. Thus, we are studying this research question: ‘How to tailor capitation systems to the Swiss context, in order to better finance the healthcare system without compromising quality?’

In order to answer the question, this project studies two types of initiatives that have been developed in collaboration with health insurances, one is a full capitation model and the other a semi-capitation model. Preventive care plays a crucial role in the reason-to-be of these two initiatives, whcih aim at reducing premiums and expanding access to quality healthcare. Introducing innovative strategies to improve access to care, intending to reduce inequities and promoting a healthy population. They offer actively prevention and a better coordination of care, and in one case a strong digital support with personalised advice.

Researchers

José Parra Moyano (Professor at IMD Lausanne)
Alix Rey (Research Fellow at IMD Lausanne)
Pascal St-Amour (Professor at UNIL)
Christoph Stettler (Professor at University hospital of Bern)
Markus Laimer (Senior Researcher at University hospital of Bern)
Lia Bally (Professor at University hospital of Bern)
David Herzig (Deputy Director at University hospital of Bern)