Point value

What is the point value?

The point value is the price of one tax point in Swiss francs. It is the second part of a bill calculated in tax points. The first part is the tariff structure: it values each outpatient service with a certain number of tax points, for example a consultation, an examination or a procedure. The tax points show how much work a service involves compared with others. Only the point value turns this into an amount in Swiss francs.

In Switzerland, the tariff structure for outpatient medical services is uniform throughout the country. Until the end of 2025, this was TARMED; since 01.01.2026, the new overall tariff system made up of TARDOC and the outpatient flat rates has applied. Each outpatient treatment is billed either under TARDOC or with a flat rate, never a mixture of both. The flat rates are also valued in tax points, and the same point value is used for both.

The point value does not apply throughout Switzerland; as a rule, it is set per canton, and it can differ for medical practices and hospital outpatient departments. That is why the same service can have a different amount in Swiss francs in Basel than in Zurich or Geneva. Other professions, such as physiotherapy or laboratories, bill under their own tariffs.

As an insured person, you mainly come across the point value on your bill: the items on an outpatient doctor’s bill show the tax points and the point value applied. Inpatient hospital stays, on the other hand, are billed with case-based flat rates (Art. 49 KVG), not with an outpatient point value.

How it works

The amount billed for a service is the result of a simple multiplication: number of tax points times point value. Under TARDOC, the tax points of an item are made up of a medical service component and a component for infrastructure and staff; both are multiplied by the same point value.

The Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG) governs who sets the point value. The tariff partners, that is the associations of service providers on one side and the insurers or their purchasing groups on the other, negotiate it in a tariff agreement. The competent cantonal government approves the agreement, checking whether it complies with the law and with the requirements of cost-effectiveness and fairness. If the parties cannot agree, the cantonal government sets the tariff itself after consulting the parties concerned.

For the switch from TARMED to TARDOC and the flat rates, the law requires cost neutrality: the change of tariff structure alone may not cause additional costs. To achieve this, the tax points are adjusted with a normalisation factor when the new system is introduced. The point value itself is separate from this; it is still negotiated per canton. One example of a transitional solution: on 10.02.2026, Basel-Stadt set the previous TARMED point value of CHF 0.91 as a provisional tariff for medical practices and hospital outpatient departments until approved agreements are in place.

For you, tariff protection applies: service providers must keep to the set tariffs and may not charge you more for basic health insurance services.

Legal basis

Art. 43 para. 1 KVG requires service providers to draw up their bills according to tariffs or prices. Under Art. 43 para. 2 let. b KVG, a tariff can set tax points for individual services and determine the point value; the law calls this a fee-for-service tariff. Art. 43 para. 4 KVG provides that tariffs are agreed in agreements between insurers and service providers or, in the cases provided for by law, set by the authorities, calculated on business management principles. Under Art. 43 para. 5 KVG, fee-for-service tariffs and outpatient patient flat rates must be based on a single tariff structure agreed for the whole of Switzerland.

Art. 46 para. 4 KVG requires a tariff agreement to be approved by the competent cantonal government or, if it applies throughout Switzerland, by the Federal Council. Art. 47 KVG covers the case where there is no agreement: the cantonal government then sets the tariff after consulting the parties concerned, and if negotiations on renewal fail, it can extend the existing agreement by one year. Tariff protection is governed by Art. 44 para. 1 KVG.

Example: one item on a bill in Basel-Stadt

Nora is 41, lives in Basel and sees her GP in 2026. Let us assume one item on her bill has 50 tax points. In Basel-Stadt, the provisional point value of CHF 0.91 applies (cantonal government, 10.02.2026).

What this means for you

You do not have to negotiate or know a point value in order to be treated. But it helps you understand your bill. On the copy of the invoice or the doctor’s bill, each item shows the tax points and the point value. Check that the services are correct and ask if an item is unclear. Under tariff protection, nobody may charge you more than the tariff for basic health insurance services.

Since TARDOC and the outpatient flat rates were introduced on 01.01.2026, bills look different from those under TARMED. The FOPH states that a treatment is billed either under TARDOC or with a flat rate. If both appear for the same treatment, ask.

The point value only affects your premium indirectly and with a delay. You can influence it directly by your choice of health insurer, deductible and model in the premium calculator. The health insurer profiles show how the health insurers are doing financially. You can find out more about the outpatient flat rates under outpatient flat rates.

Common mistakes

• Thinking tax points are Swiss francs. A tax point is not a currency. Only multiplying it by the point value gives the amount.
• Comparing bills directly between cantons. The same service can cost different amounts in different cantons, because the point value applies per canton.
• Believing the health insurer sets the point value on its own. It is negotiated between service providers and insurers and approved or set by the cantonal government.
• Overlooking tariff protection. Surcharges beyond the tariff are not allowed for basic health insurance services.

How we handle tariffs and data is explained under How we calculate.