20 May 2026

The Swiss Federal Council mandated the Federal Department of Home Affairs to draft a legislative proposal amending the Federal Act of 18 March 1994 on Health Insurance (HIA) to allow services provided by APNs to be covered by compulsory health insurance (Obligatorische Krankenpflegeversicherung, OKP), with a view to submitting the draft for public consultation by the end of the first half of 2028.

Switzerland already faces a shortage of general practitioners in certain regions, a situation expected to worsen due to upcoming retirements and declining working hours among physicians, while demographic ageing and an increase in chronic conditions are simultaneously driving up demand for primary care. As APNs hold a Master's degree in Advanced Practice Nursing, the Federal Council considers them well-placed to deliver certain medical services alongside physicians, thereby reducing the workload of general practitioners and improving access to primary care. The preferred model foresees APNs working as employees of outpatient care institutions, providing services in close collaboration with doctors, with billing handled by the institution as the recognised service provider under the OKP. The required amendment of the Federal Act on Health Insurance (KVG) will need to be coordinated with the ongoing revision of the Health Professions Act (Gesundheitsberufegesetz, GesBG), which is to regulate APN training and practice as part of the second stage of the nursing initiative.

For more information, see here.