Researchers at Geneva University School of Medicine Detail Findings in Health Insurance (Solidarity and cost management: Swiss citizens’ reasons for…

Researchers at Geneva University School of Medicine Detail Findings in Health Insurance (Solidarity and cost management: Swiss citizens' reasons for priorities regarding health insurance coverage)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Managed Care Weekly Digest -- Investigators discuss new findings in Health Insurance. According to news originating from Geneva, Switzerland, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, "Approaches to priority-setting for scarce resources have shifted to public deliberation as trade-offs become more difficult. We report results of a qualitative analysis of public deliberation in Switzerland, a country with high health-care costs, an individual health insurance mandate and a strong tradition of direct democracy with frequent votes related to health care."

Funders for this research include Schweizerische Akademie der Medizinischen Wissenschaften, NIH Clinical Center (see also Health Insurance).

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the Geneva University School of Medicine, "We adapted the Choosing Healthplans All Together (CHAT) tool, an exercise developed to transform complex health-care allocation decisions into easily understandable choices, for use in Switzerland. We conducted focus groups in twelve Swiss cities, recruiting from a range of socio-economic backgrounds in the three language regions. Participants developed strategic arguments based on the importance of basic coverage for all, and of cost-benefit evaluation. They also expressed arguments relying on a principle of solidarity, in particular the importance of protection for vulnerable groups, and on the importance of medical care. They struggled with the place of personal responsibility in coverage decisions. In commenting on the exercise, participants found the degree of consensus despite differing opinions surprising and valuable. The Swiss population is particularly attentive to the costs of health care and means of reducing these costs."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "Swiss citizens are capable of making trade-offs and setting priorities for complex health issues."

For more information on this research see: Solidarity and cost management: Swiss citizens' reasons for priorities regarding health insurance coverage. Health Expectations, 2018;():. (Wiley-Blackwell - www.wiley.com/; Health Expectations - onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1369-7625)

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from M. Schindler, Institute for Ethics, History and the Humanities, Geneva University Medical School, Geneva, Switzerland. Additional authors for this research include M. Danis, S.D. Goold and S.A Hurst.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.12680. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

Keywords for this news article include: Geneva, Europe, Switzerland, Health Insurance, Health and Medicine.

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