Do you teach Pilates, yoga, gentle exercise, aquagym, or Qi Gong? Your participants often receive partial reimbursement for their membership fees from their supplemental insurance upon presentation of a certificate that you provide. This certificate is changing: as of January 1, 2027 , it must adhere to the 595 rate .
Homemade certificates, hastily created PDFs, or stamped letterhead will no longer be accepted by health insurance providers. Instead, a standardized document will be required, with identical tariff codes throughout Switzerland and a single electronic format (XML 5.0). This applies to large fitness centers as well as independent instructors leading three classes a week. The good news: 2026 is a full transition year. Here's what you need to prepare between now and December.
Summary
The 595 fare in two minutes
Tariff 595 is the standard billing method used throughout Switzerland for outpatient health promotion and prevention services . It falls under the Swiss Supplementary Health Insurance Act (LCA ), not the Swiss Health Insurance Act (LAMal). Therefore, it has no connection whatsoever with the TARDOC system or the outpatient flat-rate billing schemes that have been prevalent in the medical field since January 1, 2026.
Its goal is simple: to put an end to the current situation, where each insurer requires a different receipt and each center produces its own independently. With tariff 595, a Pilates session billed in Geneva has the same charge number as in St. Gallen, and the receipt arrives at the insurer in a machine-readable format.
The three pillars of the standard
- Uniform pricing classifications: each type of service has its own number, identical for all providers in the country
- A standardized reimbursement statement: same structure, same mandatory fields, regardless of the health insurance fund.
- A single electronic format: XML 5.0, directly readable by insurers' systems.
Who is affected, and who is not?
The scope of tariff 595 is broad. It extends well beyond fitness centers, which were historically its main users.
Those concerned
- Instructors of classes: Pilates, yoga, Qi Gong, Tai Chi, dance, aquagym, Nordic Walking, EMS training, back exercises, both independently and in studios
- Fitness centers and gyms , including memberships and single entries
- Health coaches and preventative nutritional counseling
- Swimming schools , including baby swimming and children's lessons
- Midwives and perinatal providers for childbirth preparation and pre- and postnatal exercise
- Physiotherapy clinics, medical practices and hospitals that offer prevention courses outside of LAMal
- Providers of health promotion services in the workplace
They are not concerned
Complementary medicine therapists are explicitly excluded from tariff 595. Their services are considered curative and continue to be billed under tariff 590. Osteopathy, therapeutic massage, lymphatic drainage, reflexology: nothing changes for them.
What will change on January 1, 2027
Until now, an informal subscription certificate was sufficient in most cases. The customer would submit it to their ticket office, which would then decide. From January 1, 2027, this document will be replaced by a reimbursement claim form conforming to tariff 595, issued in XML 5.0 format.
In practice
- The old certificate templates remain valid until December 31, 2026. You therefore have a full year to switch.
- Manual invoicing is a thing of the past. Producing an XML 5.0 receipt by hand is unrealistic: a software solution is essential.
- There's nothing stopping you from starting sooner. As soon as your software is ready and your numbers are available, you can switch to the 595 rate without waiting until 2027.
- Your prices remain unrestricted. Tariff 595 standardizes the invoice format, not the amount you charge.
Pricing positions: how they work
A tariff classification describes a service, not a price. It tells the insurer exactly what the service entails and in what form it was provided. Classifications are reviewed annually on January 1st.
Some telling examples
- 1001: Fitness center training, monthly subscription
- 1004: Fitness center training, single entry
- 1007: Personal training in a fitness center, in 5-minute sessions
- 1101: missed date
- 2015 and 2016: Pilates, individual or group lessons, monthly subscription or per lesson
- 3029 and 3030: yoga, same logic
- 5022 and 5023: Fall prevention
- 9998: Livestream offers and live coaching
- 9999: Offers that do not correspond to any position, to be documented with free text that is as precise as possible.
The logic of subscriptions
The pricing structure clearly distinguishes between monthly subscriptions and single-use services, as well as individual and group options. An annual subscription is billed either as one annual item (quantity 1) or as twelve monthly items. For multi-year subscriptions, each year has its own separate line item with its own validity dates. These dates must correspond to the actual duration of the subscription; this is one of the points insurers verify.
The case of digital technology
Live online courses use the location corresponding to the activity. Pre-recorded content and video on demand, however, use a dedicated location, regardless of the type of activity being filmed.
GLN and RCC: the two essential issues
Without these two identifiers, no valid supporting document is possible. This is the issue that needs to be addressed as a priority, because obtaining them takes time.
The GLN number
The Global Location Number is a unique personal identifier, managed by Refdata. All service providers should have one by the end of 2026. It identifies the person delivering the service.
The RCC number
The Register of Creditor Codes , managed by SASIS, identifies the service provider to insurers. In the health promotion sector, it is obtained through certification bodies such as Qualitop, QualiCert, EMfit and MEfit, or Fitness Guide. If you have multiple RCC numbers, each tariff number is invoiced separately.
Good news for already certified providers: your current certification remains valid . The switch to tariff 595 does not require any new certification.
Price 595 or price 590?
Confusion is common, and it's costly in terms of rejected invoices. The distinction lies in the purpose of the service.
- Price 595: Health prevention and promotion. Fitness centers, class instructors, coaches. Individual or group format
- Price 590: Curative therapy in complementary medicine. Individual format only.
A practice can perfectly fall under both categories: an osteopath who also leads a back exercise class will bill her treatments under 590 and her class under 595. In agenda.ch, the two catalogues coexist and each service is linked to the corresponding position.
What tariff 595 is not
Three misunderstandings keep recurring, so let's clear them up right away.
- This is not a certification. The 595 fee does not replace, nor does it require, any new certification from Qualitop, QualiCert, EMfit, or Fitness Guide.
- This is not an endorsement by insurers. It does not change your status with the funds in any way.
- This is not a guarantee of reimbursement. The fee guarantees that the supporting document arrives in a correct and legible format. Reimbursement itself always depends on the terms of your client's supplementary insurance.
In other words: the 595 tariff covers the form, not the substance. But proper form avoids the back-and-forth, requests for additional information, and administrative rejections that currently strain your relationships with clients.
Your 2026 calendar
Twelve months is a comfortable amount of time, provided you don't leave everything until December. Here's the logical order.
By summer
- Check that your certification is up to date with your organization.
- Request your GLN number if you don't already have one
- Check your RCC number, or request it through your certification body.
By autumn
- Choose the software solution that will generate your supporting documents.
- Match each of your services and courses to a position in tariff 595
- Handling special cases: multi-year subscriptions, online courses, services without a dedicated position
By December
- Produce some test documentation before going into production
- Train the team that is in contact with customers, including reception and administration
- Inform your customers about the new document they will receive starting in January.
Price 595 in agenda.ch
The complete catalog for tariff 595 is already integrated into agenda.ch, with its 81 entries in French and German. Specifically, each service and course in your calendar can be linked to its corresponding tariff entry directly from the service form.
Once this link is established, the billing process follows: the items automatically appear on the receipt, along with the quantities and validity dates from the appointments or course registrations. Your GLN and RCC numbers, the latter per canton, are saved once and for all in the billing settings and included on each document.
Group classes, series of sessions and subscriptions are managed natively, which is particularly important here: the vast majority of the positions in tariff 595 relate precisely to group lessons and monthly subscriptions.
We are closely monitoring the development of the XML 5.0 standard and its implementation schedule. If you use agenda.ch and tariff 595 applies to your business, please write to us: this helps us prioritize correctly.
Conclusion
Tariff 595 doesn't change your prices, your certification, or the insurer's final decision. It changes how you document what you bill, and it does so uniformly across the country. For an industry where each insurer previously imposed its own requirements, this is a real simplification, even if the first year requires some work.
The January 1, 2027 deadline is firm, but it's not a sprint. The two actions that must not be postponed are obtaining your GLN and RCC numbers, the processing times for which are beyond your control, and choosing a software solution capable of generating the supporting documentation in the correct format. The rest—matching your services to the tariff categories—can be done smoothly once these foundations are in place.
FAQ
From what point does tariff 595 become mandatory?
As of January 1, 2027. Current subscription certificate templates will remain accepted until December 31, 2026. You can switch over before this date if your software and numbers are ready.
Do I need to obtain a new certification?
No. The Qualitop, QualiCert, EMfit, MEfit, and Fitness Guide certifications remain valid as is. The 595 fee is not a certification system.
Does tariff 595 guarantee a refund to my clients?
No. It only guarantees that the supporting document reaches the insurer in a correct and usable format. Reimbursement depends on the terms of each client's supplementary insurance policy.
Can I still set my prices freely?
Yes. Pricing policy remains entirely free. Tariff 595 standardizes the description of services, not their price.
What is the difference between tariff 595 and tariff 590?
Code 595 covers prevention and health promotion, both individual and group. Code 590 covers complementary medicine curative therapies, for individuals only. A single practice may use both depending on the service.
What if no position matches my offer?
Position 9999 exists for these cases, accompanied by free text. Describe the service as precisely as possible: this is the description the insurer will read.
How do I bill for an annual subscription?
Either with the annual position in quantity 1, or with the monthly position in quantity 12. For a multi-year subscription, provide one line per year with the corresponding dates.
Does tariff 595 have any connection with TARDOC?
None. TARDOC and outpatient packages fall under the Swiss Health Insurance Act (LAMal) and cover medical services. Tariff 595 falls under the Swiss Supplementary Insurance Act (LCA), and therefore under supplementary insurance.
Are my online courses affected?
Yes. Live courses use the corresponding activity position, and there is a specific position for pre-recorded content and video on demand.