Page 49 - Bulletin, Vol.82 No.3, October 2023

Appendix 1

Speech by Mohammed Sebti
AAFI-AFICS AGM 8.June 2023
UNSMIS

Apart from pension issues, the other area of concern for pensioners is provident and
health protection. We are fortunate to have a mutualist institution for this purpose, both
in its operation and in its spirit. As a result, the cover offered by the Mutual is excellent,
generally much better than that offered by private funds and, above all, less expensive,
as it is not profit-making.

Despite this, the insurance industry is in a good financial position, generating surpluses
in recent years, enabling it to build up a number of financial reserves to cover the major
risks posed by very high claims, to protect against long-term financial risks or
epidemiological risks, as we saw recently with Covid.

As far as financial risks are concerned, everyone knows that health costs in Switzerland
are very high, and that billing for services is high and sometimes exaggerated, on the
grounds that the Mutuelle does not belong to the Swiss health protection system or to
the LAMal. In this respect, the Insurance secretariat is making enormous efforts to
combat billing abuses; these efforts have been crowned with success with the HUG and
CHUV, and with certain private clinics, most recently with La Tour; other agreements
are being prepared with the Geneva Doctors' Association to establish fair pricing for
services.

These efforts are aimed at reducing costs, thereby minimising the need to raise
premium rates, and improving benefits coverage.
Barring a major event, there will be no increase in premiums until 2025, while outside
Switzerland premiums continue to rise.

In terms of improving cover, a number of benefits are currently being studied by the
Executive Committee with a view to their possible improvement; this is the case for
benefits relating to nursing care, psychiatric care and psychotherapy, and visual
impairment.
Particular attention is also being paid to improving communication with members, by
updating the website, installing dedicated telephone lines, processing e-mails more
quickly and setting up hotlines at Member Organisations. Significant progress is being
made in terms of repayment times, and measures are being taken to limit these to a
maximum of 15 working days.

One very important point that I would like to emphasise here is the excellent relationship
that we have with the Insurance Secretariat, represented here by Giovanni Pizzini and
Thibaut Piret, under the inspiration of the Director of Human Resources, Natalya
Myronenko, whose presence among us I welcome. As far as
pensioners are concerned, I know that this Secretariat is attentive to the specific nature
of their problems and I can testify that it provides them with the most appropriate
attention and response possible; AAFI and the Mutual's secretariat meet regularly, and
will continue to do so, to discuss issues of general concern to pensioners.

AAFI-AFICS BULLETIN, Vol. 82 No.2, 2023-10 47

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