AI translation of the German original. Legal references and sources remain those of the original document. German version.

¶ Costs and Responsibility – Free of Charge Does Not Mean Without Cost

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¶ Who Pays Under the Federal Council Model

The federal government procures the information system, is responsible for its operation and finances further development as well as the transfer of existing EPDs. The cantons bear the ongoing system costs and local tasks. The July fact sheet still describes several communities; the National Council instead wants a single national community jointly designated. These organisational versions must not be conflated. Division of responsibilities, pp. 1–2 Art. 30

¶ Estimates Are Not an Approved Total Budget

The Federal Council Message cites a low-to-mid double-digit million franc amount for the information system; a precise procurement price is not expected to emerge until the tendering process. It estimates dossier migration at 2–3 million francs and the initial information and objection campaign at approximately 6.9 million. Additional annual amounts are expected for ongoing system operation and further development. These are planning assumptions in the Message, not awarded contracts. Financial implications, pp. 99–102 of the Message

Costs of adapting local practice and clinic interfaces must be accounted for separately. A national platform price is therefore not automatically the total cost calculation for the healthcare system.

¶ What Has Already Been Invested

The cost study published in 2026 cites median initial connection costs for hospitals of CHF 1,177 per bed for a portal solution and CHF 2,318 for deep integration. These figures relate to the current EPD, procurement and external consulting. They must not be used as a price offer for the new E-GD. Synthesis report, pp. 2 and 9–12

¶ How Reliable Are the Economic Viability Statements?

The second RIA on centralisation works qualitatively: because the measure was only roughly developed at that time, it could not quantify the impacts. It points to transition, migration and perverse-incentive risks. The Swiss Federal Audit Office for its part criticised inadequate decision-making bases in the interdepartmental consultation version of January 2025. This finding must be placed in its temporal context; it does not prove that all subsequent changes remained unexamined. Mandate and limits, pp. 5–7 Audit 24606

Editorial conclusion: A convincing overall calculation requires investment, operation, local connections, migration, support and realistically measured benefits. The available documents justify neither the promise of guaranteed billion-franc savings nor a precisely established billion-franc loss.

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