Swiss GPs say Tardoc tariff system worsens primary care

The Swiss association representing general practitioners and paediatricians has sharply criticised the new Tardoc medical tariff, saying it has failed to strengthen primary care while significantly increasing costs across outpatient medicine, SRF reported.

The association said primary care had not been upgraded under Tardoc and had even been downgraded in some cantons. Only general paediatricians and practical doctors had seen a moderate improvement, it said.

Tardoc has governed the prices charged to health insurers for medical services since January 1, 2026. The federal government says the new tariff system is intended to create more transparent pricing that reflects current medical practice and to correct incentives and outdated elements of the previous Tarmed system.

“Overall, Tardoc points to a significant increase in costs, while the strengthening of general practitioners demanded by all sides has failed to materialise,” association co-president Monika Reber said in a statement.

The association said adjustments would be necessary to comply with the Federal Council’s cost-neutrality requirements. However, it rejected a uniform reduction across all medical specialties.

Instead, corrections should target tariffs that were not calculated appropriately, including excessive time allocations, known as minute calculations, as well as infrastructure and staffing costs that had been set too low, the association said.

It called the development a damaging signal to the next generation of doctors and warned that it would worsen the shortage of general practitioners. “A tariff system that clearly disadvantages primary care will worsen the shortage of general practitioners instead of tackling it,” co-president Sébastien Jotterand said.

The association said young doctors could turn away from primary care if the work remained significantly less financially attractive than other specialties despite comparable training and high levels of responsibility.