Costs · Switzerland
Costs and Kostengutsprache in Switzerland
In 2022 Switzerland abolished the licensing requirement and left the cost question untouched. The result: prescribing has become easy, paying has not.
The licensing requirement is gone, the cost problem has stayed: basic insurance covers cannabis medicines only case by case, and the Federal Council most recently rejected including them in the mandatory benefits on 2 September 2026.
The rule
Not a mandatory benefit. Reimbursement only case by case under Art. 71a–71d KVV, with the health insurer's prior confirmation of cost coverage.
A parliamentary document from 2026 speaks of around 70 people whose costs are covered, out of some 10,000 affected; the Federal Council rejected postulate 26.3958 on 2 September 2026.
The order matters: the Kostengutsprache must be obtained before treatment begins. Anyone who treats first and asks afterwards has as a rule closed off the route through Art. 71a–71d.
The price gap the federal government documents itself
Mostly paid for by the patient, and the price differences are extreme — a factor of up to 34 has been documented for the same product.
For the same preparation, a price difference of up to a factor of 34 has been documented between Swiss pharmacies. That is not an argument against individual pharmacies but a consequence of magistral formulations not being subject to price regulation. For you it means: getting a cost estimate from two or three pharmacies is not excessive caution but the most effective lever you have. Which establishments hold a federal narcotics licence at all is set out in our directory.
What belongs in an application for a Kostengutsprache
- The diagnosis, its severity and the course so far.
- The earlier therapies with preparation, dose, duration, effect and reason for stopping — the core of the application.
- The reasoning why a great therapeutic benefit is to be expected and no authorised alternative is available.
- The specific preparation, the dosage and the planned duration of treatment.
- A cost estimate from the pharmacy.
We are not a legal advice service. If an application is refused, the right places to turn are the Ombudsstelle der Krankenversicherung, the Patientenstelle of your canton or an adviser in social insurance law.
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