On December 3, 2025, the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health published updates to the Healthcare Benefit Ordinance (KLV/OPre), which determines coverage of medical services in Switzerland. The changes will take effect on January 1, 2026, and relate to prophylactic vaccinations, cost containment measures, and other matters. The updates are also implemented in KLV Annexes, including the List of explicitly evaluated services (Annex 1), the outpatient-before-inpatient mandate (Annex 1a), the List of Medical Aids (Annex 2, MiGeL), and the List of Analyses (Annex 3, AL).

In December 2025, the Danish Healthcare Quality Institute (DHQI) released a methodological document clarifying the processes of health economic analyses associated with the clinical guidelines and the DHQI Council’s decision-making. Furthermore, the first two health economic analyses associated with the clinical guidelines were published concerning prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-PET/CT in prostate cancer and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) in ovarian cancer.

Our goal at MTRC is to inform the decision-making of our clients and to support their market access activities. Below is a snapshot of our planned activities for the next two weeks. This can help our existing and prospective clients understand the potential scope of our support better. From the week of December 15th, we plan to work on 19 projects. Review the complete list of planned activities in this post.

On November 20, 2025, the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV) announced that Annex 2 of the updated German Uniform Evaluation Standard (EBM) catalog, scheduled for publication on January 1, 2026, will be expanded to include additional interventional procedures.

On November 28, 2025, the Member State Coordination Group on Health Technology Assessment (HTACG) published its annual Work Programme for 2026, outlining the priorities and activities within the joint EU-level HTA framework (EU HTAR). In 2026, HTACG plans to initiate about five joint clinical assessments (JCAs) for medical devices with the first assessments expected to start in June 2026. The Work Programme also sets out the 2026 schedule for Joint Scientific Consultations (JSCs).

In December 2025, the Danish Health Data Authority published the DRG tariffs for 2026. In accordance with the released documentation, one new DRG will be introduced in 2026.

In November 2025, the Ministry of Health approved new Agreements concerning the designation of Benchmark centers, departments, and units of the National Health System (CSURs) for the treatment of rare or complex pathologies. These updates include the decision on new procedures requiring CSUR designation (surgery for complex central airway stenosis), as well as the designation, redesignation, and revocation of CSURs across multiple fields, including in the endocrine, endoscopy, gastrointestinal, nephrology and urology, neurology and neurosurgery, neuromodulation, and neurovascular fields.

In late November – early December 2025, the application period for 2027 OPS (procedure codes) and DRG changes was opened by the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) and the Institute for Hospital Remuneration Systems (INeK), respectively.

On November 28, 2025, the entity managing the DRG system in Switzerland, SwissDRG, published the final (billing) version of the 2026 DRG system. In total, 19 new DRGs related to cardiovascular, ENT, gastrointestinal, neurology and neurosurgery, obstetrics and gynecology, orthopedics, and some other fields were introduced. Also, four new add-on reimbursement categories were added.

In November 2025, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) in England released four Med Tech-related assessments in its HTA Journal, which concerned procalcitonin evaluation of antibiotic use in COVID-19 hospitalized patients, comparison of the knee arthroplasty versus joint distraction for osteoarthritis, comparison of surgical approaches for mitral valve repair, as well as comparison of sample types for diagnostics of infected diabetic foot ulcers.

In November 2025, the annual update of the Swedish NordDRG system was published to come into force on January 1, 2026. Five new DRGs were introduced. In 2026, to obtain DRG tariffs, individual DRG cost weights must be multiplied by a base rate of 81,142 SEK.

On November 23, 2025, the Norwegian Directorate of Health released an updated version (v.78) of the Norwegian Laboratory Code (NLK) system, along with associated tariffs, for both state and private laboratories. A total of 42 new codes were added in the biochemistry, microbiology, clinical pharmacology, and immunology fields.