H+ supports healthcare regions and calls for consistent framework conditions for transformation
29.01.2026 | from H+ The Hospitals of Switzerland
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29.01.2026, The Federal Council confirms in its report "Investments of Swiss Hospitals and Cantonal Hospital Planning" the cantonal responsibility for inpatient care and recommends stronger inter-cantonal coordination, particularly across healthcare regions. H+ explicitly welcomes this direction. It aligns with the findings of the PwC analysis commissioned by H+ on the future of the Swiss hospital landscape and is an important step towards needs-oriented, networked care. However, to implement this, the right framework conditions are needed.
A high-quality, easily accessible and reliable healthcare remains the central benchmark, both in urban centres and in rural regions. H+ supports the further development of hospital planning towards healthcare regions beyond cantonal borders, oriented towards patient flows, quality criteria and reliable data basis. Sustainable care is created through networking, cooperation, tiered care and clear profiles, and not through additional bureaucracy or top-down imposed structural decisions.
H+ Director Anne-Geneviève Bütikofer says: "A future-proof hospital care is consistently aligned with the needs of the population and real healthcare regions. Quality, accessibility, and regional responsibility must be thought of and designed together."
Transformation needs leeway and reliable framework conditions.
The PwC study commissioned by H+ in November 2025 clearly shows: The status quo is not an option. Without substantial transformation, the increasing demand, shortage of skilled workers and quality requirements cannot be met simultaneously. What is crucial is not primarily the number of hospitals, but their networking, profiling, and the consistent further development of care models.
To ensure the success of this transformation, coherent and reliable framework conditions are necessary. These include coordinated care planning across cantonal borders, cost-covering financing, reduction of regulatory hurdles, consistent promotion of outpatient care, and accelerated digital transformation. Digitisation is not an add-on, but a prerequisite for quality care, continuity, and relief of healthcare workers.
Anne-Geneviève Bütikofer states: "Hospitals are ready to take responsibility and implement new care models. For this, they need room for manoeuvre, planning security, and framework conditions that enable cooperation, innovation, and digitisation."
H+ actively participates in further development.
H+ is ready to actively shape the process initiated by the federal government and cantons - for modern, reliable, and sustainable hospital care. H+ calls for:
- Needs-based care planning with common criteria across cantonal borders. - A reliable data basis for this care planning, integrating outpatient and inpatient services and creating transparency. - Financial and political framework conditions that enable investments in new care models, cooperation, and digitisation.
The transformation of the hospital landscape is a joint task of politics, cantons, tariff partners, and service providers. H+ is ready to accompany this path constructively and solution-oriented.
Press contact:
Anne-Geneviève Bütikofer, Director
Tel.: 031 335 11 63
E-Mail: medien@hplus.ch
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Conclusion of this article: « H+ supports healthcare regions and calls for consistent framework conditions for transformation »
H+ The Hospitals of Switzerland
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Source: H+ The Hospitals of Switzerland, Press release
Original article published on: H+ unterstützt Versorgungsregionen und fordert konsequente Rahmenbedingungen für die Transformation