Bag Epl MCP

\U0001f1e8\U0001f1ed Part of the [Swiss Public Data MCP Portfolio](https://github.com/malkreide)

\U0001f48a bag-epl-mcp

MCP Server for the Swiss BAG electronic benefits platform (ePL) — Spezialitaetenliste, GGSL, MiGeL

\U0001f1e9\U0001f1ea Deutsche Version

Demo

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Overview

bag-epl-mcp enables AI models to answer questions about mandatory health insurance coverage in Switzerland — in natural language, grounded in real data.

Anchor query: *"Is this medication covered by mandatory health insurance?"* → epl_sl_suche: Live lookup in the Spezialitaetenliste (SL) → More use cases by audience →

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Features

• \U0001f48a 6 tools, 2 resources, 2 prompts for Swiss health insurance data
• \U0001f50d `epl_sl_suche` — search the Spezialitaetenliste for medications
• ⚖️ `epl_rechtskontext` — legal context with Fedlex links
• \U0001f513 No API key required — all data publicly accessible
• ☁️ Dual transport — stdio (Claude Desktop) + Streamable HTTP (cloud)
• \U0001f4da Prompt templates for insurance coverage checks and school health queries

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Prerequisites

• Python 3.11+
• uv (recommended) or pip

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Installation

# Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/malkreide/bag-epl-mcp.git cd bag-epl-mcp

Install

pip install -e .

or with uv:

uv pip install -e .

Or with uvx (no permanent installation):

uvx bag-epl-mcp

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Quickstart

# stdio (for Claude Desktop) — default, opens no network ports

python -m bag_epl_mcp.server

Streamable HTTP (cloud) — transport selected via env var

MCP_TRANSPORT=streamable-http MCP_HOST=0.0.0.0 MCP_PORT=8000 \ pip install -e ".[http]" && python -m bag_epl_mcp.server

Transport & host are configured exclusively via environment variables

(MCP_TRANSPORT, MCP_HOST, MCP_PORT). The default is stdio bound to

nothing; MCP_HOST defaults to 127.0.0.1 and should only be set to

0.0.0.0 inside a container/cloud environment.

Try it immediately in Claude Desktop:

*"Is Methylphenidate (Ritalin) covered by mandatory health insurance?"*

*"Which laws regulate admission to the Spezialitaetenliste?"*

*"Is a wheelchair covered by mandatory insurance?"*

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Configuration

Claude Desktop

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{

"mcpServers": { "bag-epl": { "command": "python", "args": ["-m", "bag_epl_mcp.server"] } } }

Or with uvx:

{

"mcpServers": { "bag-epl": { "command": "uvx", "args": ["bag-epl-mcp"] } } }

Cloud Deployment (Streamable HTTP for browser access)

Render.com (recommended):

1. Push/fork the repository to GitHub
2. On render.com: New Web Service → connect GitHub repo
3. Build command: pip install -e ".[http]"
4. Set the following environment variables:

• MCP_TRANSPORT=streamable-http
• MCP_HOST=0.0.0.0 (required so the container accepts external traffic)
• MCP_PORT=8000 (or Render's $PORT)
• *(optional)* MCP_CORS_ORIGINS='["https://claude.ai"]' to extend the browser CORS allow-list
• *(optional)* OpenTelemetry tracing is on by default but a no-op unless the tracing deps are installed — build with pip install -e ".[http,otel]" and point OTEL_EXPORTER_OTLP_ENDPOINT at your collector. Set MCP_OTEL_ENABLED=0 to disable.

1. Start command: python -m bag_epl_mcp.server
2. In claude.ai under Settings → MCP Servers, add: https://your-app.onrender.com/mcp

Security note: the server exposes only public, read-only data and uses no

authentication. See docs/SECURITY.md for the threat

model (egress allow-list, host binding, Lethal-Trifecta assessment).

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Available Tools

Example Use Cases

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Architecture

Data flow (Phase 1):

                         bag-epl-mcp (FastMCP)

┌────────────┐ MCP ┌───────────────────────────────┐ HTTPS GET ┌──────────────────┐ │ MCP Client │◀───────▶│ tools (read-only) │─────────────▶│ sl.bag.admin.ch │ │ (Claude │ stdio / │ ├─ epl_sl_suche │ egress │ www.bag.admin.ch │ │ Desktop, │ Stream- │ ├─ epl_ggsl_abfrage │ allow-list │ www.fedlex... │ │ claude.ai)│ able │ ├─ epl_migel_suche │◀─────────────│ (public OGD) │ │ │ HTTP │ ├─ epl_gesuchseingaenge │ (no auth) └──────────────────┘ │ │ │ ├─ epl_rechtskontext │ │ │ │ └─ epl_server_info │ structured JSON logs → stderr └────────────┘ │ resources: epl://uebersicht …│ │ prompts: epl_kassenpflicht…│ └───────────────────────────────┘

Phase roadmap (details in docs/ROADMAP.md):

Phase 1 (current)  → legal context + entry points, no data retrieval

Phase 2 (planned) → FHIR/IDMP API, once publicly accessible Phase 3 (vision) → MiGeL + AL via ePL-FHIR

What Phase 1 does, and what it does not. Five of the six tools make no network request at all — there is exactly one outgoing HTTP call in the whole module. They return the legal basis and an entry point, and they now say so. The previous wording, "XML/XLSX downloads + SL website access", advertised a capability with no code path behind it; on 2026-08-08 it was removed rather than implemented, because the underlying source is not machine-readable.

That one HTTP call goes to sl.bag.admin.ch/api/search and receives HTTP 200 with `text/html` — the 51 KB Angular shell. A freely invented path under the same prefix returns the identical response, byte for byte: there is no API at that address. Previously the resulting JSON parse error was caught by a bare except Exception and turned into the claim "the SL database API is not publicly documented" — a statement about the BAG's publishing practice, derived from a parser error. The tool now reports what was measured.

The SL front end calls https://epl.bag.admin.ch/api/sl/ instead, on a different host. That host answers 401 without authentication — but it answers 401 for invented paths too, so this does not establish that any particular route exists. It is deliberately not on the egress allow-list: without verifiable access, adding it would be a grant on suspicion.

MCP protocol version: 2026-07-28 natively, 2025-11-25 as the initialize handshake ceiling. epl_server_info reports the revision the calling connection actually negotiated — derived from the request, not written down here a second time. See MCP Protocol Version for both eras. SDK updates are proposed monthly via Dependabot; the protocol version is reviewed on every mcp SDK bump — see the versioning policy in docs/ROADMAP.md.

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Safety & Limits

• Read-only: All tools perform HTTP GET requests only — no data is written, modified, or deleted.
• No personal data: The server accesses public regulatory lists (SL, GGSL, MiGeL). No personally identifiable information (PII) is processed or stored.
• No medical advice: This server provides informational access to regulatory data only. For medical or legal decisions, always consult the official BAG sources and qualified professionals.
• Rate limits: The SL website (sl.bag.admin.ch) is a public Angular SPA; the server enforces a 30s timeout per request. Use limit parameters conservatively.
• Data freshness: Phase 1 tools link to live BAG sources. No caching is performed by this server.
• Links are measured, not assumed: the addresses handed out as "official source" are re-checked by scripts/record_fixtures.py on every run, together with a control request to an invented path. Two BAG pages previously handed out (.../Arzneimittel/geburtsgebrechen-spezialitaetenliste.html and .../Arzneimittel/gesuchseingaenge.html) answered HTTP 404 on 2026-08-08 and were replaced by the entry point that verifiably resolves — not by a guessed replacement URL.
• Legal references are checked against the register: every SR number the server prints is resolved to its ELI via the Fedlex SPARQL endpoint. This detour is necessary: Fedlex's web front end is a single-page app that answers HTTP 200 with the same byte count for *any* ELI, including an invented one. That is how a wrong GgV link (eli/cc/1986/40_40_40, no register entry) went unnoticed; the correct ELI is eli/cc/1986/46_46_46.
• Data licence (OGD-CH): The underlying BAG/Fedlex data is Swiss Open Government Data, licensed CC BY 4.0. Tool outputs carry a source / provenance block (JSON) or a source-and-licence footer (Markdown) so attribution is preserved.
• Structured output: every tool returns both a human-readable Markdown/JSON block (content) and a typed structuredContent validated against a per-tool output schema, so MCP clients can consume results programmatically without parsing prose.
• Terms of service: Data is subject to the ToS of sl.bag.admin.ch, bag.admin.ch, and fedlex.admin.ch.
• No guarantees: This is a community project, not affiliated with the BAG or any government entity. Availability depends on upstream sources.

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MCP Protocol Version

This server speaks two protocol eras over the same endpoint. The client's first request on a connection decides which one applies; a later claim from the other era is refused.

Both revisions are pinned in tests/test_protocol_version.py and asserted against the