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Doctors have been billing under a different system since January 2026.
Picture: Keystone
The new Tardoc doctors' tariff was intended to ensure greater fairness - but individual practices and hospitals are apparently already using the first loopholes. The FOPH is aware of this, but remains vague and prefers to speak of "misuse" rather than trickery.
The new Tardoc medical tariff has been in force in the Swiss healthcare system since the beginning of the year. The promise behind it: outpatient treatment in surgeries and hospitals should be billed more transparently, comprehensibly and fairly.
But as soon as the new system comes into force, the first weaknesses become apparent. Back in February, "K-Tipp " revealed that individual practices and hospitals had apparently found ways to interpret the new tariff in their favor.
One example from the research: a 69-year-old woman from Grenchen SO has to have a gastroscopy and colonoscopy every five years. In the past, both procedures were carried out on the same day. This year, however, the practice decided to split the two examinations into two separate appointments.
For the patient, this not only meant double the physical and psychological stress. The bill was also different: Preparation, procedure and aftercare were charged separately for both appointments.
According to "K-Tipp", this can be worthwhile under the new medical tariff. Those who see patients more than once may be able to charge more.
On Tuesday, the Federal Office of Public Health confirmed during a media conference that the authority is aware of such cases. However, the responsible deputy FOPH director Kristian Schneider, who has been in office since February 2026 and previously worked at the Biel Hospital Center, did not speak of trickery. He called it "misapplication in individual cases".
The FOPH explained that it had received information about service providers who were not billing as originally intended. "They split a treatment into several treatment days and offer patients preliminary examinations," said Schneider. His conclusion: "That was not the idea."
However, the FOPH was not more specific. Exactly who is billing incorrectly, how many cases are known and how great the financial damage could be remained open. When asked by a journalist, the FOPH merely stated that it did not know the details. "We also only live from the information that the insurance companies provide us with."
Nevertheless, the authority admitted that there are "imaginative" invoices. This refers to practices that have apparently found ways to bill special forms of treatment additionally or differently in the new system.
The FOPH announced that it would continue to monitor the situation and initiate measures if necessary. A hard line sounds different. The authority's interpretation: There is not automatically intent behind every error. "In some cases, it is necessary to clarify how a tariff point is meant and what can be billed under it," said Sandra Schneider, head of the FOPH's Tariffs and Principles department.
