What about Health Insurance?
Health care insurance for illness and accidents is obligatory for all persons resident in Switzerland. Basic insurance must be arranged with a health insurance company after taking up residence in Switzerland or after the birth of a child. It may be possible to organise insurance with a company in your home country that covers you while you live and work in Switzerland. You must provide proof of Insurance. Each family member must be individually insured. Each person must make his/her own insurance arrangements; the premiums are not deducted from your pay. Foreign workers in paid employment whose resident permits are valid for less than three months are also obliged to take out insurance, unless they have equivalent insurance cover for medical treatment in Switzerland. Prices for premiums are different for each insurance company. You must pay an annual ‘excess or franchise’ if you need to make a claim against the insurance (minimum 300 francs). Higher ‘excess’ can be agreed, which as a rule results in a lower premium. Depending on provider, excess, type of cover etc people at IDIAP pay between 125 CHF and 200 CHF per month.
Under the basic insurance, all health insurance companies pay for the same benefits. In principle the basic insurance covers, without limit of time, all benefits provided in the canton of residence by doctors, other recognized specialists or hospitals (general department) including maternity costs, as well as periods spent in the general department of a recognized hospital. The restriction to the canton of residence does not apply to emergencies and medically justified exceptions. The costs of the most important medicines, in accordance with a comprehensive list (LAMAL) are also met. The medical costs of long-term care at home or in a nursing home are also mostly reimbursed (but not the costs of board and accommodation). Dental treatment is only paid for by the basic insurance if it is linked to serious illnesses. Income replacement (during sickness) is not included under the basic insurance however you can voluntarily take out ‘Loss of earnings insurance’.
For a comparison of the prices for the basic LAMal insurance you can visit http://www.comparis.ch
Additional insurance can be taken out for benefits not covered by the basic insurance. This is not obligatory and thus the insurance companies are to a large extent free to structure their offers and premiums as they please. They can also impose restrictions concerning health or refuse applications. The most popular are additional insurances that cover hospital treatment outside the canton of residence also, or meet the cost of treatment in private hospitals. For more information you might like to visit the Groupe Mutuel site. Groupe Mutuel is just one of many Health Insurance companies. .
