The Federal Council approves the revision of TARDOC

Context

TL;DR

• First revision of TARDOC and flat-rate amounts valid from 2027
• OTMA reviewed more than 500 requests
• Outpatient expenditure must not grow by more than 4%
• DFI is preparing measures if no agreement is reached

Key facts

• Decision → Federal Council
• Validity → from 2027
• Requests reviewed → over 500
• Previous structure → TARMED, replaced at the beginning of 2026
• Tariff partners → FMH, H+, prio.swiss

On November 11, 2026, in the 12.30 news bulletin, Alessio Veronelli's report covered the first revision of the TARDOC outpatient tariff system. The Federal Council also approved the revision of the flat-rate amounts, effective from 2027.

However, the Government asked sector partners to make rapid corrections on two issues: cost neutrality and primary care. The decision follows the review of over 500 amendment requests by the Organization for Outpatient Medical Tariffs, OTMA.

For TARDOC, the approved changes mainly concern pediatrics and emergency services. For the flat-rate amounts, the areas mentioned include pathology, hand surgery, maxillofacial surgery and pediatric surgery.

The relationship with TARMED

The global tariff structure entered into force at the beginning of 2026 to replace TARMED. The tariff partners indicated in the source, FMH, H+ and prio.swiss, update it every year.

The revision valid from 2027 therefore forms part of a system already in operation. Despite approval of most of the proposals, the executive rejected certain adjustments because of methodological shortcomings. The source thus describes broad approval, accompanied by a request to correct certain aspects of the system.

Operational details

The revision schedule

Three steps in the tariff structure

The temporal comparison clarifies the position of 2027 in the tariff cycle. The overall structure entered into force at the beginning of 2026 to replace TARMED; the first revision approved by the Federal Council is valid from 2027; the next updates are planned between 2028 and 2029. The source also indicates that the structure is updated every year by the tariff partners.

The sequence does not describe three distinct systems, but rather the entry into force of the structure, its first revision and subsequent updates. The areas concerned also vary depending on the component: for TARDOC, the source indicates pediatrics and emergency services, while for the flat-rate payments it mentions pathology, hand surgery, maxillofacial surgery and pediatric surgery.

The 4% limit should be read as a threshold for annual growth in outpatient expenditure. The source does not present it as an automatic increase in every tariff. In the absence of a plan agreed by the partners to comply with it, it is not possible to compare the threshold with growth that has actually been recorded: that figure is not reported.

From a methodological perspective, the text links the rejection of certain adjustments to gaps in the criteria used. For the next updates, the partners will have to refine the criteria used to estimate working times and reference incomes.

Key points

Outstanding commitments

The green light for the review does not exhaust the measures requested by the Federal Council. Cost neutrality remains a central issue: annual growth in outpatient spending must not exceed 4%, but the tariff partners have not yet reached an agreement on the plan needed to guarantee this limit.

In the event of no agreement, the Federal Department of Home Affairs, headed by Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, has been tasked with preparing intervention measures. The source specifies neither the content of these measures nor whether a deadline is linked to the failure to reach an agreement.

A second commitment concerns primary care. The Government expects a programme with binding milestones to increase recognition of family medicine and paediatrics. The text states that the expected improvements in these areas have not yet materialised.

The third area concerns the calculation criteria. The partners will have to refine them in preparation for the updates scheduled between 2028 and 2029, with attention to the assessment of working hours and reference incomes.

What the text does not quantify

The report does not indicate how many of the more than 500 requests examined were accepted, nor does it quantify the economic impact of the individual adjustments. It also does not indicate the content of a future roadmap or of any measures by the Federal Department of Home Affairs. The certain fact is the direction set by the Government: a review effective from 2027, control of spending growth and further methodological corrections still to be defined.

Source: rsi.ch