Physiotherapy and basic health insurance (LAMal)
To verify This page has 2 items that could not be confirmed on an official page. Check them yourself before relying on them:
Back pain, a sports injury or rehab after surgery? Basic health insurance (LAMal, assurance obligatoire des soins) pays for physiotherapy (physiothérapie) only when a doctor prescribes it, within set limits. How much you pay yourself depends on your franchise and co-payment: see Health insurance (LAMal).
Key facts
- Doctor's prescription required. LAMal covers physiotherapy by an admitted physiotherapist when it is prescribed by a doctor (prescription médicale) to treat musculoskeletal, neurological, internal organ or vascular conditions that physiotherapy can treat (OPAS art. 5 al. 1).
- 9 sessions per prescription. Each prescription covers at most nine sessions, and the first session must take place within five weeks of the prescription (OPAS art. 5 al. 2).
- More sessions need a new prescription (OPAS art. 5 al. 3).
- After 36 sessions, the doctor must send a report and a reasoned proposal to the insurer's medical adviser (médecin-conseil) for treatment to continue to be covered (OPAS art. 5 al. 4).
- No direct access under LAMal: if you book a physio without a doctor's prescription, basic insurance does not pay.
1. Getting a prescription
- See your GP or the doctor treating you. If you do not have one yet, see GP and pharmacy.
- The doctor writes a physiotherapy prescription (ordonnance de physiothérapie).
- Book your first session quickly: it must start within five weeks of the prescription date, or the prescription is no longer valid for LAMal (OPAS art. 5 al. 2).
2. Renewals
- One prescription = up to 9 sessions. For more, ask the doctor for a new prescription (OPAS art. 5 al. 2 and 3).
- Up to 36 sessions (four prescriptions) no report is needed. Beyond that, the doctor sends a report to the insurer's medical adviser, who proposes whether therapy continues at the insurer's cost, to what extent, and when the next report is due (OPAS art. 5 al. 4).
- Medical training therapy (physiothérapie médicale d'entraînement) on equipment is covered under conditions: it starts with an introduction, ends at most three months later, and follows individual physiotherapy (OPAS art. 5 al. 1ter).
3. What you pay
- Physiotherapy counts like other LAMal care: your franchise and co-payment apply. Amounts and how they work: Health insurance (LAMal).
- Supplementary insurance (assurance complémentaire) may cover sessions without a prescription or beyond LAMal limits. This depends on your policy: To verify with your insurer.
4. Direct access without a prescription
Under the current OPAS (version in force 1 Aug 2026), LAMal pays for physiotherapy only on medical prescription (OPAS art. 5 al. 1). If you go directly to a physio without a prescription, you pay yourself unless a supplementary insurance covers it.
- Political discussion on direct access: a parliamentary proposal to study direct access for some conditions was reported in 2026. Status: To verify on parlament.ch. Nothing has changed in LAMal so far.
5. Accidents: accident insurance first
If you need physiotherapy after an accident (sport, bike, fall), it goes through accident insurance (LAA) if you are covered by it through a job, otherwise through LAMal with accident cover. Which applies to you: Accident insurance for students.
- Report the accident to the right insurer before treatment starts. Accident insurance also pays physiotherapy only on a doctor's (or dentist's) prescription (LAA art. 10 al. 1 let. a).
6. Finding a physio
- The physio must be admitted to bill LAMal (OPAS art. 5 al. 1, referring to OAMal art. 47 and 52). Ask when booking if they bill basic insurance.
- Physioswiss is the professional association of physiotherapists (not an official authority). Its website has a practice search (recherche de cabinets).
- Your GP can also recommend a practice near you.
- For sports and fitness on campus (not therapy): Sports and fitness at EPFL.