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Median income in Switzerland is also higher than anywhere else by quite a margin. Relative to GDP the Switzerland spends less than Germany or France. Relative

Median income in Switzerland is also higher than anywhere else by quite a margin. Relative to GDP the Switzerland spends less than Germany or France. Relatively to average net monthly salary healthcare is cheaper by about 30-40% or so compared to Germany.

inferiorhuman 3y ago
The OECD paints a much less rosy picture. In their words: …higher levels of AIC correspond to higher price levels for hospitals as richer countries have generally higher price levels than poorer ones. The correlation is, however, not perfect: as an example, the hospital price level in Switzerland is twice the level observed in Germany, for comparable consumption levels. https://www.oecd.org/health/health-systems/International-Comparisons-of-Health-Prices-and-Volumes-New-Findings.pdf https://www.oecd.org/health/health-systems/International-Com... Edit: I found it relatively difficult to make an apples to apples comparison as much of the details seem to only be available in French. However, nothing I saw put the Swiss rate of savings at 19%. FT put the German rate at around 10% for 2018, and a source citing the BFS put the Swiss rate at over 12% for the same year (with a peak of 18.7% in 2020). So no, I don't buy that per-capita consumption is an inaccurate method here. Swiss health care is expensive even if you adjust for the overall wealth of the nation.
- ffgjgf1 3y ago
  The data in that report is somewhat outdated because healthcare costs grew considerably faster in Germany since 2016 compared to Switzerland. Also looking at PPP disposable income per capita and PPP healthcare spending the gap is much narrower (Germany still has lower costs but only by ~10% or so). IMHO using per capita consumption seems a bit disingenuous because household savings rate in Switzerland is considerably higher than in Germany (19.3% vs 11.1%). So yeah while it’s accurate that the Swiss spend more on healthcare relative to the other goods and services they consume that largely makes sense because almost all healthcare services have to be ‘produced’ locally and can’t be imported. Even with social transfers nominal disposable income is about 50% higher in Switzerland. So of course the Swiss will spend a smaller share of their income than the Germans to maintain comparable levels consumption just because a lot of the goods they buy cost more or less the same. The Swiss could consume more and save as little as the Germans and if they did so that would somehow decrease relative healthcare costs according to that report. That seems somewhat flawed?

inferiorhuman 3y ago

The OECD paints a much less rosy picture. In their words: …higher levels of AIC correspond to higher price levels for hospitals as richer countries have generally higher price levels than poorer ones. The correlation is, however, not perfect: as an example, the hospital price level in Switzerland is twice the level observed in Germany, for comparable consumption levels. https://www.oecd.org/health/health-systems/International-Comparisons-of-Health-Prices-and-Volumes-New-Findings.pdf https://www.oecd.org/health/health-systems/International-Com... Edit: I found it relatively difficult to make an apples to apples comparison as much of the details seem to only be available in French. However, nothing I saw put the Swiss rate of savings at 19%. FT put the German rate at around 10% for 2018, and a source citing the BFS put the Swiss rate at over 12% for the same year (with a peak of 18.7% in 2020). So no, I don't buy that per-capita consumption is an inaccurate method here. Swiss health care is expensive even if you adjust for the overall wealth of the nation.

ffgjgf1 3y ago
The data in that report is somewhat outdated because healthcare costs grew considerably faster in Germany since 2016 compared to Switzerland. Also looking at PPP disposable income per capita and PPP healthcare spending the gap is much narrower (Germany still has lower costs but only by ~10% or so). IMHO using per capita consumption seems a bit disingenuous because household savings rate in Switzerland is considerably higher than in Germany (19.3% vs 11.1%). So yeah while it’s accurate that the Swiss spend more on healthcare relative to the other goods and services they consume that largely makes sense because almost all healthcare services have to be ‘produced’ locally and can’t be imported. Even with social transfers nominal disposable income is about 50% higher in Switzerland. So of course the Swiss will spend a smaller share of their income than the Germans to maintain comparable levels consumption just because a lot of the goods they buy cost more or less the same. The Swiss could consume more and save as little as the Germans and if they did so that would somehow decrease relative healthcare costs according to that report. That seems somewhat flawed?