Swiss Federal council intends to improve hospital planning and the calculation of inpatient tariffs

On February 12, 2020, it was announced that the Swiss Federal Council is planning to modify the Health Insurance Ordinance (OAMal / KVV) with the goal of enhancing hospital planning, and unification of the inpatient tariffs throughout the country.

Regarding the planning, the Federal Council harmonized the criteria for the cantonal planning for hospitals, nursing homes, and hospices. These criteria include the cost-effectiveness of the services delivered and the quality of the services delivered. Coordinated planning requires the efficient use of resources in order to guarantee uniform access of patients at the national level to treatments of the same quality. Thus, the cantons need to coordinate planning more closely. In addition, hospitals on the cantonal hospital lists will no longer be able to pay bonuses or salaries based on the volume of services. In this way, it is intended to counteract the increase in the volume of benefits unjustified from a medical point of view.

Furthermore, currently, the method for calculating lump-sums payments for the reimbursement of episodes of inpatient care may differ according to the cantons and hospitals. This change of OAMal/KVV intends to unify the DRG tariffs for inpatient care on the national level, regardless of the canton in which the hospital is located.

These changes are expected to enter into force in January 2021.

See the full news in Italian (change to German or French in the top-right corner), together with the relevant documentation, here and here.

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