On 19 March 2021, the RDAF submitted its statement to the Federal Social Insurance Office (BSV, Bundesamt für Sozialversicherungen) for the public consultation on the adjustment of various ordinances which are needed to implement the revised Swiss Invalidity Insurance (IV, Invalidenversicherung).

In its submission, the RDAF recalls that the main objective of the IV (integration/reintegration) is fundamentally different from the objectives of the obligatory health insurance (OKP, obligatorische Krankenpflegeversicherung). For the RDAF, this objective must remain the top priority of the IV, although a certain degree of harmonization between the IV and the OKP is desirable (e.g. for the benefit assessment of medicines). The RDAF advocates for the continuity of existing services and the rapid reimbursement of new therapies to be guaranteed. With this aim in view, the RDAF calls for simplified, more efficient and faster processes.

For the RDAF, equal access to treatment is of paramount importance both in the IV and the OKP. The existence of a “funding gap” between the two systems is unacceptable from a patient’s perspective, especially since the National Concept for Rare Diseases sets a seamless transition from the IV to the OKP as a specific goal. The RDAF full statement is accessible here.