Key points
- Basic (compulsory) health insurance covers obesity surgery when your BMI is above 35 and an appropriate two-year weight-loss treatment has not worked.
- The Hôpital de Nyon (GHOL) is a SMOB-recognised centre: no prior cost approval request to the insurer is needed when these conditions are met.
- The team checks these conditions with you during the assessment.
What basic health insurance covers
Reimbursement by basic health insurance
The federal OPAS (Health Insurance Benefits Ordinance) provides for coverage of the “surgical treatment of adiposity” under the following conditions1:
- “The patient has a body mass index (BMI) above 35.”
- “An appropriate two-year weight-loss treatment has not been effective.”
- The indication, the procedure, quality assurance and follow-up comply with the SMOB (Swiss Society for the Study of Morbid Obesity and Metabolic Disorders) guidelines.
Treatment periods add up: they do not need to be continuous2. Dietary support, supervised physical activity, psychological follow-up or medication can all be part of it. The follow-up set out in the guidelines is part of the covered service1. Status as of 12 October 2026.
Before surgery can be considered, two years of weight management, on your own and/or with professional support, are needed. Follow-up at the Centre counts towards these two years: coming to the Centre does not reset the clock. The team checks with you that the treatments you have followed meet the reimbursement condition; a personal effort is not automatically sufficient.
Coverage and hospital stay
Obesity surgery is covered by basic health insurance when the required conditions are met. The team checks them with you during the assessment.
At the Centre
As the Hôpital de Nyon is a SMOB-recognised centre, no prior cost approval request is needed for operations that meet these conditions3, 1.
A stay in a semi-private or private unit is also possible, depending on your supplementary insurance and the cover in your policy.
Special situations
Some situations fall under the remit of a specialist referral centre: complex or revisional operations, a BMI above 50, patients under 18 or over 65, and so-called metabolic surgery (BMI of 30 to 35 with type 2 diabetes)2, 1. When an operation requires a specialist referral centre, we organise your care in Geneva (HUG), Lausanne or Neuchâtel, depending on your situation. Wherever possible, and with the agreement of the host centre, Dr Pierre Fournier performs your operation there himself.
Obesity medicines are subject to different rules: Medication.
What next?
If this page sounds like your situation, you can book a surgical assessment consultation. Its purpose is to review your situation and the possible options; any operation is then decided collectively by the multidisciplinary team, with you.
Your request is received by the Centre’s appointments team, who will organise the next steps with you. You do not need to check for yourself whether you meet the criteria.
Medical review of the French version: Dr Pierre Fournier
Scientific sources and references
Sources accessed on 12 October 2026. Reimbursement rules and information on medicines change over time.
- Office fédéral de la santé publique (OFSP). Annexe 1 de l’ordonnance sur les prestations de l’assurance des soins (OPAS), edition of 1 July 2026: chapters 1.1 and 2.1. View source
- Swiss Society for the Study of Morbid Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (SMOB). Directives pour le traitement chirurgical de l’obésité, in force from 1 July 2023 (in French). View source
- SMOB. Liste des centres reconnus, as of 1 May 2026. View source
- Author
- Prepared for the Centre from the sources cited
- References
- See “Scientific sources and references” on this page