ASCA

What is ASCA?

ASCA is the Swiss Foundation for Complementary Medicine. The foundation was set up in 1991 by professionals from health insurance and by therapists. It is based in Geneva, its administration is in Fribourg, and it has offices in Zurich and Lugano. According to its own information, as a foundation it is supervised by the Federal Department of Home Affairs.

ASCA’s main task is the recognition of non-medical therapists. It checks whether their training in a method meets the requirements the foundation has set for more than 150 methods, and whether they have sufficient basic knowledge of conventional medicine. Those who meet the requirements receive the ASCA quality label. According to the foundation, around 18,000 therapists throughout Switzerland are recognised. ASCA also accredits schools.

It is important to put this in context: ASCA is not an authority and not part of basic health insurance. Its label only matters for voluntary supplementary insurance under the Insurance Contract Act (ICA). In this area, many insurers require therapists to be listed in a recognised register before they pay for treatment. ASCA is one of these registers, EMR another.

Medical complementary medicine must be distinguished from this. Under certain conditions it is part of basic health insurance and has nothing to do with ASCA.

How it works

Recognition of the therapist: The therapist submits proof of their training to ASCA. An assessment unit reviews it and grants an individual approval listing all recognised methods. The approval must be renewed every year. This requires 16 hours of continuing education per year, compliance with the professional and ethical guidelines and an annual fee. If continuing education hours are missing, they must be made up within at most six months, otherwise the therapist is removed from the list of partner insurers.

Billing: ASCA therapists usually address the bill to you. ASCA provides them with tools for billing under tariff 590, an invoice format accepted by the partner insurers. You pay the bill and submit it to your supplementary insurance.

What the insurer pays: The insurer only pays if three conditions are met: you have supplementary insurance that covers this method; the insurer recognises the therapist, for example through ASCA; and the benefit limits of your contract have not been used up. ASCA itself points out that not all partner insurers cover all its methods and that recognition often only applies to certain products.

Basic health insurance: It only pays for services by non-medical therapists if they are authorised as service providers under the KVG, for example physiotherapy on a doctor’s prescription. ASCA recognition is not enough for this. Basic health insurance pays for medical complementary medicine in five disciplines: acupuncture, anthroposophic medicine, drug therapy in traditional Chinese medicine, classical homeopathy and phytotherapy, in each case if the doctor has recognised further training (Art. 4b KLV).

Legal basis

There is no specific law for ASCA itself. It is a foundation under private law, and its label is a private quality check. Legally, it only takes effect through the contracts of supplementary insurance: under the Insurance Contract Act (ICA), insurers are free to decide which services and which service providers they insure in a product. What counts are your insurer’s general and additional terms and conditions of insurance.

For basic health insurance, the Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG) applies. Art. 35 KVG lists exhaustively who may work at the expense of basic health insurance, for example doctors, pharmacists, physiotherapists or midwives. Non-medical complementary therapists are not among them. Art. 4b KLV governs medical complementary medicine: basic health insurance covers acupuncture, anthroposophic medicine, TCM drug therapy, classical homeopathy and phytotherapy if the doctor has further training under the relevant proficiency programme of the Swiss Institute for Medical Education (SIWF).

Example: same method, two routes

Mira is 41 and suffers from muscle tension. She is considering ten sessions. The amounts per session are assumed; the deductible and retention fee are the statutory values. Mira has already reached her CHF 300 deductible this year.

What this means for you

1. Ask before the first session. Check with your insurer whether your supplementary insurance covers the method and whether it recognises the therapist. Give the therapist’s ASCA or EMR number when you ask.
2. Check the recognition. The directory of therapists on the ASCA website helps you check whether a person is recognised. Recognition must be renewed every year.
3. Compare supplementary insurance according to your needs. If you use complementary medicine regularly, the reimbursement rate, annual limit and recognised methods are what count. Compare under compare supplementary insurance; you can find the products of the individual insurers under health insurers.
4. Consider the medical alternative. If a doctor with recognised further training offers the same method, basic health insurance pays. You compare basic health insurance premiums in the premium calculator.

More on registers and recognition under recognised therapists.

Common mistakes

• Taking ASCA for an authority. ASCA is a private foundation. Its label does not oblige any insurer to pay.
• Believing that ASCA-recognised means “paid for by the health insurer”. Without suitable supplementary insurance, nobody pays.
• Overlooking the annual renewal. If recognition has expired, the insurer can refuse to pay.
• Only looking at the method. The insurer checks the method, the therapist and the product. All three must fit.

We explain how we compare benefits under How we calculate.