You may already have heard: “XML5 is coming.” In your practice, the change will be most visible on paper: The invoice your patient holds in her hands will soon look different.
Status at tarif590.ch: The new invoice form is not yet available. We are preparing it. You do not need to change anything about how you work today.
A simple explanation
Imagine you are writing a letter to the health insurer. Until now, it consisted of one sheet: the reimbursement receipt. Your patient pays your invoice, sends the receipt to the health insurer, and the health insurer reimburses the patient for the covered share.
Now the letter will have more pages. One page is filled with small squares: QR codes. They contain the entire invoice again, but in a form that a computer can read. The health insurer scans the codes and no longer needs to enter the information manually.
That is all. No new tariff and no new prices. Just more paper that machines can understand more easily.
What will be new in the envelope?
In future, the invoice under tiers garant will consist of four pages:
- Invoice with QR payment section – as today. The patient uses it to pay.
- Service overview – a new page explaining in simple terms what treatment was provided. It is generated automatically.
- Reimbursement receipt – you already know this document. It remains, but will look slightly different.
- QR code sheet – new. Up to twelve QR codes containing the complete invoice in machine-readable form.
The patient sends the health insurer the reimbursement receipt and the QR code sheet. Both must be sent together. If the health insurer supports this, the patient can also photograph the QR sheet using the insurer’s app.
Custom cover sheets are no longer needed. The service overview takes their place.
When does this take effect?
- 1 January 2026: CSS already accepts invoices in the new format.
- 30 June 2027: CSS accepts invoices in the old format (XML 4.5) for the last time.
- 1 July 2027 : The NVS professional association states that the new format applies to Tarif 590 from this date. Health insurers reject invoices in the old format.
By the end of June 2027, your software must therefore be able to print the new form.
What stays the same?
- Your hourly rate and tariff items.
- The patient pays the invoice to you.
- The health insurer reimburses the patient for the covered share.
- You continue to record your treatments in tarif590.ch .
What should you do now?
Nothing urgent. It makes sense to:
- Keep patient and insurance details up to date. The new form requires the same information, but in a more complete form.
- Explain to patients when the opportunity arises: “There will soon be a sheet with QR codes. Send it to the health insurer together with the reimbursement receipt.”
- Wait for our announcement. We will tell you when tarif590.ch starts printing the new form.
In short
From July 2027, the Tarif 590 invoice will consist of four pages. The main addition is the QR code sheet, which the health insurer can read automatically. The patient submits the reimbursement receipt and QR sheet together. tarif590.ch is preparing the transition and will notify you in good time.
The dates are based on information from CSS and the NVS professional association. If in doubt, check the information provided by your health insurer.