List of Analyses

What is the List of Analyses?

The List of Analyses, AL for short, is the official register of the laboratory analyses that compulsory basic health insurance pays for. For each analysis it contains an item number, a name, the number of tariff points and conditions, such as which laboratories may perform the analysis or how often it may be billed. Legally, the AL is Annex 3 of the Health Care Benefits Ordinance (KLV). It is not printed in the Classified Compilation of Federal Legislation but is published by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) as a PDF and Excel file.

The AL belongs to a family of lists that together define the benefits covered by compulsory health insurance for materials and diagnostics:

The List of Analyses is a positive list. This means that basic health insurance may only pay for the analyses listed in it. An analysis that is not on the list may not be billed under another item either. At the same time, the AL is an official tariff, i.e. a price set by the authorities and not one negotiated between laboratories and insurers.

The list is divided into chapters: A chemistry, haematology and immunology; B medical genetics; C microbiology (virology, bacteriology, mycology, parasitology); and D general items such as taking blood samples, the order fee or surcharges for home visits.

How it works

Tariff points and point value. Each analysis has a fixed number of tariff points. A point value of CHF 1 applies to all items in the AL. The tariff points are therefore directly the maximum amount in francs. The analysis “ferritin” (item 1314.00) has 6.4 points and may cost at most CHF 6.40.

Who may perform analyses? The ordinance distinguishes several types of laboratory: a doctor’s practice laboratory for basic care analyses whose result is generally available during the consultation (point-of-care diagnostics), hospital laboratories for their own needs, and laboratories that carry out further analyses on behalf of other service providers. For each item, the AL specifies in which laboratories it may be performed.

When does the insurer pay? An analysis must serve to diagnose or treat an illness. The explanatory notes to the AL make this more specific: with acceptable probability, the result must lead to a decision on treatment, a decisive change in treatment or further tests, or to a decision not to carry out further tests. If it is already clear when the analysis is ordered that the result will have none of these consequences, the analysis is excluded from cost coverage. Basic health insurance only pays for preventive analyses if the KLV lists the test as a preventive measure. Genetic tests in healthy people that are only meant to clarify whether a trait can be passed on to children are not compulsory benefits.

Bill. For analyses, only the laboratory that carried out the analysis bills the party liable for payment. That is why under tiers garant (you pay the bill and claim reimbursement) you often receive a separate laboratory bill. The bill is counted towards the deductible and retention fee like any other compulsory benefit.

Outpatient and inpatient. The AL applies to outpatient analyses. In hospital, analyses during an inpatient stay are generally included in the case-based flat rate.

Updates. The AL is usually revised once a year by an amendment to the KLV. The edition as of 01.07.2026 takes into account the changes decided by the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA) on 09.06.2026.

Legal basis

Art. 52 para. 1 let. a no. 1 KVG instructs the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA), after consulting the competent commission, to issue a list of analyses with tariff. Art. 52 para. 3 KVG states that analyses under basic health insurance may be billed at most at these tariffs. The FDHA also designates the analyses in the doctor’s practice laboratory for which a tariff may be agreed under Art. 46 KVG.

Art. 28 KLV provides that the list, under the title “List of Analyses (AL)”, forms Annex 3 of the KLV, that it is not published in the Official Compilation (AS) or the Classified Compilation (SR), and that amendments and consolidated versions appear on the FOPH website.

Art. 34 para. 1 KVG prohibits insurers from covering costs other than the statutory benefits in basic health insurance; this is what makes the AL a positive list. Art. 44 para. 1 KVG obliges service providers to comply with the tariffs set by the authorities (tariff protection). Art. 56 para. 1 KVG requires service providers to limit themselves to what is in the interest of the insured persons and necessary for the purpose of the treatment.

Art. 54 KVV governs which laboratories are authorised, and Art. 59 para. 3 KVV provides that for analyses, only the laboratory carrying them out bills the party liable for payment. The point value of CHF 1 is set by the AL itself in chapter 3.

Example: laboratory costs when investigating fatigue

Petra, 38, has been feeling tired for weeks. Her GP has a blood sample taken and three values measured in a laboratory. The tariff points come from the List of Analyses as of 01.07.2026, as does the point value of CHF 1.

The medical consultation in which the GP discusses the results is not part of the AL. It is billed separately under the outpatient medical tariff.

What this means for you

1. Ask about the purpose. An analysis must serve diagnosis or treatment for basic health insurance to pay. If you want values that are not medically indicated, you may have to pay for them yourself.
2. Check the laboratory bill. The bill shows item numbers and tariff points. You can look up every item in the AL. For compulsory benefits, the laboratory may not charge more than the tariff points in francs.
3. Submit the bill. Even small laboratory bills count towards the deductible. Under tiers garant you receive the bill yourself and must forward it to your insurer.
4. Distinguish between basic and supplementary insurance. Basic health insurance never pays for analyses that are not on the AL. Whether a supplementary insurance contributes is governed by its terms.
5. Know your deductible. How much you pay yourself for laboratory bills depends on your deductible and on the costs you have already had in the year. You can compare the premiums for each deductible in the premium calculator.

The health insurer profiles show which supplementary insurance the insurers offer for services not covered by basic health insurance. You can find the steps of a switch under switching insurer.

Common mistakes

• Assuming every blood test is covered. Only analyses on the AL that serve diagnosis or treatment are compulsory benefits. Check-ups without a medical reason are usually not covered.
• Confusing the laboratory bill with the doctor’s bill. The laboratory issues its own bills. The doctor’s consultation is billed separately.
• Taking tariff points for centimes. In the AL, a point value of CHF 1 applies. 6.4 points are CHF 6.40.
• Expecting a laboratory bill in hospital. During an inpatient stay, analyses are generally included in the case-based flat rate.
• Billing genetic tests for family planning to basic health insurance. Basic health insurance does not pay for tests in healthy people that are only meant to clarify inheritance by children.

We explain how we present tariffs and sources under How we calculate.