Switzerland’s Federal Council is proposing to replace current tight controls on admission of new doctors with a system in which cantons would set the ceilings.
This content was published on
1 minute
SDA-ATS/jc
A bill to this effect was submitted to parliament on Wednesday, and so it will now be up to parliament to decide on this thorny issue linked to rising health costs.
Tight limits were in place from 2001 to 2011 on new doctors recognized by general health insurance. They were then lifted, but re-imposed in 2013 because of a flood of new doctors and spiralling health costs. The current controls run until June 30, 2019.
At present, the Federal Council sets maximum numbers of new doctors for admission according to specialization. If the bill is passed, it is the cantons that will be able to set ceilings according to specialist areas of medicine and according to how much doctors work.
This move has been welcomed by the cantons, but doctors and health insurers are sceptical.
The federation of doctors’ organisationsExternal link said that admissions of new doctors should rather be based on national criteria on quality, such as training, experience and appropriate language skills for the canton. The main health insurers’ association Santésuisse said the proposed reform would be ineffective against the “excessive and inefficient” range of health services on offer and would have “no impact in terms of cost control”.
Swiss money laundering office registers record number of reports
This content was published on
The Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MROS) registered a record number of reports of suspicious activity last year.
Two teens accused of planning terror attack released from custody
This content was published on
The Schaffhausen judiciary has released the two teenagers from custody who allegedly planned bomb attacks in Switzerland.
OECD: Sluggish economic activity slowing growth in Switzerland
This content was published on
Sluggish economic activity at the start of the year is weighing on growth in Switzerland, with GDP expected to fall to 1.1% in 2024.
Report finds mistakes which led to Swiss government data breach
This content was published on
Mistakes were made by both the government and internet company Xplain in the case of a criminal cyber-attack on the Bern-based IT business.
Swiss government wants better gender balance in federal administration
This content was published on
New Swiss government personnel management targets say there must be even more female managers in the federal administration.
Swiss national science foundation funded over 5,000 projects in 2023
This content was published on
In 2023, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) provided a total of CHF961 million worth of funding towards research projects.
Switzerland invites 160 delegations to June Ukraine peace talks
This content was published on
Russia is currently not among the delegations invited to talks aimed at helping bring about peace in the conflict between Moscow and Ukraine.
Survey: air travel most popular way to go on holidays for Swiss
This content was published on
Despite the climate crisis, flying is the most popular mode of transport for private travel – particularly among young, urban and high-income travellers.
Swiss government to use phone data to identify asylum seekers
This content was published on
From April 2025, authorities plan to be able to analyse data from mobile phones, computers and other data carriers to identify asylum seekers.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Female doctors gain ground in Switzerland
This content was published on
The number of doctors is increasing in Switzerland. Although men remain in the majority, the proportion of female doctors is up.
140 Swiss doctors earn over a million via health insurance
This content was published on
The figure was revealed by the director of Santé Suisse (the umbrella organisation of healthcare insurers) Verena Nold when interviewed on the Infrarouge programme on Swiss public television RTS on Wednesday. According to Nold, this would translate to a salary around the million-franc mark, taking into account administration costs that could be as high as…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.