CHE Seminar Series: Barriers to care under universal coverage: Evidence from Switzerland
This seminar presents evidence on disparities in access to care from Switzerland, combining administrative data, small-area analyses, and a broader research agenda using quasi-experimental and experimental approaches.
The first part discusses national evidence on socioeconomic inequalities in potentially avoidable hospitalisations, a proxy for inadequate access to community-based ambulatory care. The study documents a robust socioeconomic gradient and substantial variation across cantons (Swiss states). Exploiting Switzerland’s decentralised institutional structure, the analysis then examines policy correlates of these inequalities. Results reveal positive associations between inequality and both the cost of mandatory health insurance and the regressivity of premium subsidy schemes, alongside a weaker negative association with general practitioner density. While descriptive, these findings point to potential policy mechanisms shaping equity in access.
The second study analyses paediatric emergency department utilisation in Geneva. In this dense urban setting, where geographical access is less likely to be the primary constraint, the results highlight the prominent role of socioeconomic vulnerability. The observed patterns are consistent with disparities arising beyond physical access constraints, including potential informational frictions. The second part outlines forthcoming research examining mechanisms underlying access disparities, studying responses to cost-sharing using Swiss insurance microdata and the role of informational frictions through a field experiment.
Speaker profile
Joachim Marti is an Associate Professor of Health Economics at the University of Lausanne (Unisanté), Co-Lead of the Lausanne Centre for Health Economics, and currently a Visiting Researcher at the Centre for Health Economics (CHE). His work spans health economics, health policy, and health services research, with a focus on efficiency and equity in healthcare, healthcare utilisation, health behaviours, and patient and provider decision-making. His current research studies how incentives, insurance design, and market structures influence healthcare utilisation, quality, and inequalities in access to care. This includes work on competition and cost-sharing in mental healthcare, private insurance and inpatient treatment decisions, methodological issues in choice experiments, and analyses of long-term care trajectories.
Weekly seminar series
As part of our Centre's vibrant research culture, we host a weekly seminar series. Visiting and invited researchers present current research relating to the economics of health and wellbeing, and the healthcare sector. Visitors are welcome to join these sessions where discussion and debate is encouraged.
For further information on our seminar series, please contact Trong-Anh.Trinh@monash.edu
Event Details
- Date:
- 4 March 2026 at 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
- Venue:
- Caulfield campus, Building C, level 1, room C121
- Categories:
- CHE Seminar; General
Description
This seminar presents evidence on disparities in access to care from Switzerland, combining administrative data, small-area analyses, and a broader research agenda using quasi-experimental and experimental approaches.
The first part discusses national evidence on socioeconomic inequalities in potentially avoidable hospitalisations, a proxy for inadequate access to community-based ambulatory care. The study documents a robust socioeconomic gradient and substantial variation across cantons (Swiss states). Exploiting Switzerland’s decentralised institutional structure, the analysis then examines policy correlates of these inequalities. Results reveal positive associations between inequality and both the cost of mandatory health insurance and the regressivity of premium subsidy schemes, alongside a weaker negative association with general practitioner density. While descriptive, these findings point to potential policy mechanisms shaping equity in access.
The second study analyses paediatric emergency department utilisation in Geneva. In this dense urban setting, where geographical access is less likely to be the primary constraint, the results highlight the prominent role of socioeconomic vulnerability. The observed patterns are consistent with disparities arising beyond physical access constraints, including potential informational frictions. The second part outlines forthcoming research examining mechanisms underlying access disparities, studying responses to cost-sharing using Swiss insurance microdata and the role of informational frictions through a field experiment.
Speaker profile
Joachim Marti is an Associate Professor of Health Economics at the University of Lausanne (Unisanté), Co-Lead of the Lausanne Centre for Health Economics, and currently a Visiting Researcher at the Centre for Health Economics (CHE). His work spans health economics, health policy, and health services research, with a focus on efficiency and equity in healthcare, healthcare utilisation, health behaviours, and patient and provider decision-making. His current research studies how incentives, insurance design, and market structures influence healthcare utilisation, quality, and inequalities in access to care. This includes work on competition and cost-sharing in mental healthcare, private insurance and inpatient treatment decisions, methodological issues in choice experiments, and analyses of long-term care trajectories.
Weekly seminar series
As part of our Centre's vibrant research culture, we host a weekly seminar series. Visiting and invited researchers present current research relating to the economics of health and wellbeing, and the healthcare sector. Visitors are welcome to join these sessions where discussion and debate is encouraged.
For further information on our seminar series, please contact Trong-Anh.Trinh@monash.edu