Launched in 2014 by the PoP and solidaritéS and carried by a broad left-wing coalition, the « Pour le remboursement des soins dentaires » initiative starts from one finding: 10 to 20% of the canton’s population reportedly forgo dental care for lack of means. Dental care, excluded from basic health insurance, remains a private matter.
The text proposed enshrining in the Vaud Constitution a compulsory cantonal insurance covering basic dental care, an oral-health prevention scheme and a network of regional dental polyclinics. Financing, modelled on the AVS, would rest on equal employer-employee contributions.
On 4 March 2018, Vaud voters were the first in Switzerland to rule on such a project. Notably, after the Grand Council rejected its counter-proposal, the left-majority State Council rallied to the initiative. Opposite, the right, dentists and business circles denounced a costly nationalisation.
Overall result Yes 42.4 % — No 57.6 % Turnout : 55.67 % | Scope Cantonal initiative rejected. No compulsory dental insurance was created. In 2022, however, the canton introduced a targeted prevention and coverage scheme. |
Actors and figures
▲ Yes camp • PoP and solidaritéS, behind the initiative (2014) • SP, the Greens, Christian Democrats; unions (UNIA, SSP, SUD) • State Council (rallied after its counter-proposal was rejected); AVIVO, Mouvement populaire des familles | ▼ No camp • FDP/PLR, SVP/UDC, Green Liberals • Vaud Society of Dentists (SVMD) • Business circles and employer organisations |
Arguments and verdicts
▲ Arguments FOR (Yes camp) A real, acknowledged access problem « 10 to 20% of Vaud residents forgo dental care for lack of means: a health inequality that must be corrected. » Verdict : ✓~ Diagnosis validated The financially driven forgoing of care was not disputed. In 2022 the canton itself acknowledged the problem by launching a targeted scheme (school prevention, 50% reimbursement of children’s basic care, vouchers for young adults), without however creating the requested insurance. Source : Canton of Vaud, RTS, Le Temps A universal insurance financed like the AVS « Compulsory coverage of basic care, financed by equal contributions, would guarantee access for everyone. » Verdict : ✗ Not realised The compulsory cantonal insurance was rejected at the ballot and not revived. The canton later preferred targeted aid over universal coverage. Source : Cantonal ballot brochure, 4 March 2018 | ▼ Arguments AGAINST (No camp) A costly, bureaucratic nationalisation « Creating a cantonal dental insurance means a new contributions factory and a bureaucracy the canton does not need. » Verdict : ✓~ Targeted approach preferred The rejection avoided a universal insurance. The 2022 scheme is far more circumscribed (precarious groups, children, care-home entrants), in line with the opponents’ logic. Source : 24 heures, Le Matin Targeted aid beats coverage for all « Better to help those who truly need it than to impose compulsory insurance on the whole population. » Verdict : ✓~ Partly realised The 2022 measures do target vulnerable groups rather than the whole population. But solidaritéS relaunching an initiative in 2025 shows the access question is not deemed settled. Source : Canton of Vaud, solidaritéS |
Factual assessment
57.6% No — initiative rejected | 2022 Targeted cantonal scheme | 50% Basic-care reimbursement (children) | 2025 New initiative relaunched |
The 2018 rejection (57.6%) set aside the compulsory cantonal dental insurance. But the initiators’ diagnosis did not vanish: in 2022 the State Council set up a targeted scheme (school prevention, 50% reimbursement of children’s basic care up to 18, three checks during schooling, vouchers for young adults). In 2025 solidaritéS relaunched an initiative — the debate stays open.
The 2018 ballot is a textbook case of a fruitful defeat. The initiative was rejected, yet its diagnosis — financially driven forgoing of dental care — was solid enough that the canton eventually answered it, in its own way, four years later.
The 2022 targeted scheme is not the universal insurance the left wanted; budget-wise it is its very opposite. But it validates the initiators’ premise while confirming the electorate’s preference for circumscribed measures over compulsory coverage for all.
The 2025 relaunch shows the topic is not closed. In substance, the Vaud vote settled above all a question of method — targeted aid versus universal insurance — far more than the recognition of the problem itself.