Health insurance

The basic insurance only pays CHF 500 for emergency transportation – no matter if it is an ambulance transportation or a helicopter flight. In the latter case, the actual costs can be up to a hundred times bigger than the amount covered by the insurer – the rest needs to be paid out from your own pocket.

Basically, the basic insurance covers only the costs of medical services provided in Switzerland. If you get sick or injured during your stay abroad, it is useless. And if there is a real emergency, and you need to be transported to Switzerland by plane, the transportation costs may amount to several hundred thousand francs.

Basic insurance gives you free access to selected medicines. The list of free medicines changes regularly, and medication that you absolutely need to take regularly can disappear from the list over time. Annual treatment costs can amount to several thousand francs if you do not take care of the additional insurance in good time.

Having an additional insurance can protect you from receiving high bills for specialist medical services in emergency cases – your bills are transferred to the Health Insurance Fund of your choice. However, there are also many everyday examples where additional health insurance can bring you measurable financial benefits. Some examples can be found below.

Hospital costs covered by the insurance can only double the treatment rate in Switzerland – at first glance, this may seem like enough. However, you should keep in mind that in case of emergency you will be transported to the nearest hospital that can provide you with the best care (it may be a private hospital or  a private ward). Then your insurance may turn out to be too low to cover a significant part of the cost of treatment.

Basic insurance can be used when you are sick. If you want to act preventively, you have to pay for it (unless you have adequate supplementary insurance). Preventive measures covered be the insurance may include sports activities, vaccinations or training on a healthy lifestyle. You can save from CHF 500 to CHF 1000 per year.

Dental treatment is not included in the basic health insurance. You can receive the reimbursement of treatment costs only if your dental problems result from an accident or illness – and even then, several additional conditions must be met. Thanks to the additional insurance, 50-75%  of your dental treatment and prosthetic costs can be covered by the insurer.

The basic insurance can cover your ophthalmologist appointments. However, if you need glasses or contact lenses, you usually have to pay for them – there are very few situations in which can you count on help from the basic health insurance. Having an additional package can save you from CHF 150 to even CHF 600 per year.

As long as a person providing us with health services is a doctor, you may expect your basic insurance to cover, at least to some extent, the cost of your therapy. However, if you choose a qualified therapist who is not a doctor, you need an additional insurance package to protect you from paying the full cost of your appointments and cover 50% and more of your treatment costs.

If you select the right basic health insurance model, you can choose doctors that you want to visit in your canton. However, if you cross the borders of the canton, you no longer have such a choice. If you want to be able to choose doctors in other cantons, you need additional insurance.

You do not have to take out your basic and additional insurance in the same Health Insurance Fund. If you buy insurance at different insurers, it is always worth first sending the treatment bill to the basic insurer. If they refuse to pay or agree to partially cover the costs, you may transfer the bill to your additional insurer.

If you want to terminate your basic insurance on December 31, you must do it by November 30 or the last working day in November. If we want to terminate it on June 30, the notice of termination must be received by the insurer by March 31 or by the last working day in March. The written termination should be sent by a registered letter. The termination of insurance on June 30 is only possible in the standard model if the  contribution amounts to CHF 300. In all other cases, it is possible to terminate the insurance contract only on December 31.

Additional insurance can be terminated on September 30, and it must be done in writing. If you want to terminate additional insurance, consider doing it after you sign a contract with a new insurer. Until the new contract is signed, your Health Insurance Fund may refuse admission for any reason –  it can be your age, health declaration and so on.