283,000 signatures against the Federal Council’s plans for physiotherapy
Published: Friday, Nov 17th 2023, 14:40
Retour au fil d'actualité
Around 283,000 people have signed two petitions against planned changes to the tariffs for physiotherapy services. The campaign was launched by Physioswiss, the professional association of physiotherapists.
His petition is entitled "Physiotherapy on the brink".
The signatures were to be handed over to the federal administration on Friday afternoon as part of a demonstration in Bern, a spokesperson for the association told the Keystone-SDA news agency.
The Federal Council submitted the amendment to the ordinance for consultation in August; the deadline for submitting comments ended on Friday. The federal government wants the changes to come into force at the beginning of 2025.
According to the Federal Council, the current flat rates for the reimbursement of physiotherapy sessions by health insurance companies should be replaced by a graduated system that is based more on the duration of a physiotherapy session.
The physiotherapists see this as a tariff cut through the back door. It is merely about cutting costs and reducing the number of treatments. This threatens to leave a gap in care for everyone: "Even more of us physiotherapists will be forced to change profession or close their practice."
Specifically, Physioswiss is calling for a halt to the tariff intervention, new negotiations with health insurers and cost-covering tariffs for its services.
The tariffs for physiotherapy services under compulsory health insurance have remained basically unchanged since the late 1990s - despite inflation. Over the last three decades, several attempts at a comprehensive revision have failed because the tariff partners were unable to reach an agreement.
©Keystone/SDA
French 
English 
German 
Spanish 
Arabic