Physiotherapy: 112'000 signatures for higher fees

Context

In brief

• 112,000 signatures support higher rates for physiotherapy.
• Physioswiss is asking for an increase of at least 30%.
• Twenty-six cantonal petitions will be submitted in October.
• The new model is expected to come into force in 2027.

Key Facts

• Signatures → 112,000 throughout Switzerland
• Request → rate increase of at least 30%
• Petitions → 26 cantons
• Delivery → in October; already in Neuchâtel and Zug
• Model → is expected to come into force in 2027
• Billing → five-minute intervals
• Previous → 283,000 subscriptions in 2023
• Linked → in Ticino the increase in health insurance for 2027 will be 3.7%

Harvesting and deliveries

In Bern, Physioswiss reports that it has collected 112,000 signatures throughout Switzerland to advocate for higher rates in physiotherapy. According to a note, the operation was completed yesterday, and the association indicates the next step: the submission of 26 cantonal petitions to the authorities.

The delivery is scheduled for October. It has already taken place in Neuchâtel and Zug, while the other petitions follow the calendar indicated by the association. The process is divided into cantons and concerns the setting of the values of the cantonal tariff point.

The national value of the collection and the cantonal structure of the petitions proceed together: support has been collected throughout Switzerland, while the institutional transition takes place through separate initiatives per canton. This is the path indicated in the note.

The economic request

Physioswiss is calling for a fee increase of at least 30%. The stated goal is to enable practices to cover operating costs and pay fair salaries. The association links this sustainability to the possibility of ensuring that all patients have access to physiotherapy care close to home.

Director Osman Bešić urges the cantons to consider the economic reality of the studies and to set fair rates. In the communiqué, his position accompanies a mobilization built on cantonal petitions and a request addressed to the authorities.

"The cantons are now called upon to take the economic reality of physiotherapy practices seriously and to set fair rates"

The collection therefore has a national dimension, but the step described remains cantonal: the signatures support a request on the values of the tariff point and the next step indicated is the delivery to the authorities in October. The Physioswiss note presents the 30% increase requested by the association, linking it to the management of the studies and fair salaries.

Operational details

Two plans not to be confused

The request described by Physioswiss and the model indicated for 2027 belong to two different passages. The petitions ask the cantons to intervene in the values of the cantonal tariff point. The future model, on the other hand, proposes performance-based prices with a time component and provides for services to be billed in five-minute intervals. The source presents this novelty as a defense by Physioswiss, not as the content of the petitions.

This distinction helps to read the possible effects without mixing plans. 30% is the minimum increase requested by the association to allow the practices to cover management costs and pay fair salaries. The five-minute unit, on the other hand, describes a billing method linked to the new model. One figure therefore concerns the level of cantonal tariffs; the other concerns the price structure over time. The source treats the two elements separately.

Why 2023 weighs heavily on reading

In 2023, the industry drew attention to its financial situation. The collection of 283,000 subscriptions was directed against a tariff intervention planned by the Federal Council, which was then implemented in the spring of the following year. The internal conflict triggered by this affair led to the creation of Prophysio. For today's dossier, this precedent shows that the discussion on tariffs has already produced a split in membership, as well as a confrontation with the authorities.

The reference text also includes, among the related titles, the indication of an increase for health insurers in Ticino for 2027 of 3.7%. This is a separate figure from the Physioswiss demand and should not be confused with the 30% required for physiotherapy fees. To follow the broader health chapter, you can consult the health insurance guide, keeping the two dossiers separate.

Recommended tools

For an updated estimate, use the net salary calculator and the CHF-EUR exchange comparator.

Key points

How to follow the story

Those who want to follow the dossier without confusing announcements and decisions can use a simple sequence. The starting point is to keep the cantonal tariff request and the billing model planned for 2027 separate.

A four-step verification

1. Establish the perimeter. The collection concerns 26 cantonal petitions and the definition of the tariff point values. The operational reference is therefore the discussion before the cantonal authorities. 2. Check the calendar. The source places the deliveries in October and indicates Neuchâtel and Zug as cantons where the passage has already taken place. For the other petitions, the data to follow is the delivery to the authorities in the month indicated. 3. Separate updates. If a communication talks about tariff point values, it concerns petitions. If it refers to billing at five-minute intervals or the time component, it concerns the model that should come into force in 2027. 4. Read the 30% correctly. This is a request from Physioswiss, motivated by the coverage of operating costs and fair salaries in the studies. The source presents it as a request of the association, not as a decision already taken.

What to watch for

For practices, the two criteria declared by the association remain the sustainability of operating costs and the possibility of paying fair wages. For patients, the indicated goal is to maintain access to physiotherapy close to home. Following these two threads makes it possible to understand whether a communication concerns the cantonal value or future time billing.

If you want to broaden your reading to everyday expenses, you can consult the costo della vita in Svizzera. To estimate the effect of your income on the budget, use the calcolatore stipendio.

Source: tio.ch