24 June 2026

At its session of 24 June 2026, the Federal Council took note of an evaluation by the FOPH finding that the new regulation of psychological psychotherapy has become established, with the change of system from the delegation model to the prescription model regarded by patients and professionals as largely successful. Since 1 July 2022, psychological psychotherapists have been able to practise independently and bill on their own account to compulsory health insurance on a doctor's prescription, rather than only under medical supervision like in the former delegation model. Access to psychotherapy was assessed as having improved, and the number of therapists admitted to the compulsory health insurance rose markedly, although long waiting times persist, particularly for children and adolescents and in rural areas, and the shortage of specialists and rising demand continue to affect the provision of care.

In parallel, costs charged to basic insurance rose from CHF 528 million in 2021 to CHF 922 million in 2024. The evaluation attributed around 30 per cent of this growth to higher tariffs, just under 25% to a long-term increase in the use of psychotherapeutic services together with population growth, and just under 45 per cent to other, not directly observable factors, such as a shift from the self-pay and supplementary insurance segment into the compulsory health insurance. In view of the additional costs, the Federal Council announced that it would continue the annual cost monitoring and analyse the further development of the care situation in greater depth; the evaluation also identified potential for optimisation, notably in the organisation of guarantees of payment and psychiatric case assessments for longer courses of therapy.

For more information, see here.