Court rejects insurers challenge to Schwyz hospital plan

The Federal Administrative Court has rejected a complaint by health insurers against the hospital planning of the canton of Schwyz, SRF reported. The ruling is the first on a new legal right allowing associations to challenge hospital planning and is considered a leading decision.

The insurers association Prio.Swiss had challenged the cantons hospital list, which assigns medical services to its three hospitals. It argued that the services should be coordinated more closely across cantonal borders to prevent oversupply.

The court ruled that the complaint was inadmissible and declined to consider it. It said an entire hospital list could not be challenged as a whole. Only individual service mandates awarded to hospitals could be contested.

Prio.Swiss director Saskia Schenker said the association regretted that the court had not examined its substantive criticism of Schwyz hospital planning. The association would consider filing complaints against individual service mandates in future, she said.

Schenker also questioned whether the association appeal right, introduced in Swiss healthcare in 2024, was sufficiently broad to oversee cantonal hospital planning. The instrument is intended to help contain healthcare costs, prevent oversupply and promote coordination between cantons.