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Foreign nationals resident in Switzerland can request reimbursement of health care benefits after registering with Schweizer Krankenversicherung. Health care in Switzerland is not covered by the Federal Health Insurance Scheme, but is managed by the health care agencies of the individual cantons. Persons residing in Switzerland must take out health insurance within three month of their move, with exceptions.

In order to be able to continue using Switzerland's health care system, you must cover part of the costs of your health care in Switzerland and contribute to them. These guidelines will tell you who needs health insurance in Switzerland, what waivers and how to take out health insurance in Switzerland, and how to apply for reimbursement. ¿Who needs health insurance in Switzerland?

What does Schweizer Krankenversicherung pay? How much does my health insurance in Switzerland include? ¿Who needs health insurance in Switzerland? Every alien who lives or works in Switzerland usually has to take out health insurance as soon as he/she is domiciled and has obtained his/her authorisation, although there are some exceptions.

The following are some of the exemptions for Swiss residents: retired persons who receive a retirement benefit only in an EU or EFTA country; cross-border commuters who are working in an EU or EFTA country; current Swiss citizens with similar insurance; employees of multinational organizations, diplomatic missions and embassies.

When you are a European Union (EU) national and travel to Switzerland for less than three month, your European Health Insurance Card entitles you to public health care at lower costs in Switzerland. However, as soon as you are domiciled or employed, you must join a health insurance company in Switzerland.

When you are a cross-border worker (e.g. you live in Germany, France, Italy or Austria but work in Switzerland), you have the opportunity to be covered in both countries. Once you have registered your home with your municipality, you will usually receive a mail with proof of your health insurance.

Kids up to the ages of 18 do not have to be in the same business as their families and get discounts. Young 18 year olds are in charge of their own health insurance and usually get a souvenir before their birthdays. A young adulthood 18 years of age and older may be held accountable for the entire back payment if a parent has not paid previous insurance benefits for their infant.

If you want insurance that is retroactive to the date of delivery, your baby must be in Switzerland within three month of being born. When you take out insurance after three moths, cover starts from the date of your policies, which may mean that the charges associated with the delivery are not included. Whereas all businesses have to agree to any claimant for compulsory health insurance in Switzerland, additional insurance may be rejected from the moment of delivery due to illness.

It is advisable in such cases to take out additional insurance before giving birth in Switzerland, if your health insurance company in Switzerland allows this. It is your responsability in Switzerland to take out your own state health insurance. Foreign nationals cannot register for health care in Switzerland until they have landed in Switzerland and apply for their permanent residency in Switzerland or have declared their place of abode to the municipality (i.e. EU nationals who move to Switzerland).

You will be tracked by the municipality to prove that you have adequate health insurance, according to your situation. Once you have arrived in Switzerland, you have 90 workingdays to join a health insurance scheme or request a waiver. It' s a good idea to look around and select a supplier yourself, as you won't necessarily be allocated the best insurance company for your situation, e.g. information in German.

After registering with a health insurance fund in Switzerland, your cover will revert to the date on which you were responsible for the obligatory insurance, e.g. when you took up residence or were born in Switzerland. Since you can also claim your expenditure subsequently, you are also required to make the premium payments from the start of your mandatory insurance time.

Changing your health insurance provider is possible three weeks before the end of June or the end of December, provided you are on a parcel with the usual surcharge of CHF 300. Otherwise, you can only switch your health insurance fund at the end of each year, usually with one month's prior notification (i.e. by 30 November).

As a result, claimants also have one months after the date of release of the health insurance rates for the following year, which all Schweizer Krankenkassen must release by 31 October. Although it is still advisable to begin the procedure early to make sure that you do not miss the 30 November time limit, this is enough to allow claimants to switch to another insurance fund if they do not agree with the new policy or tariff.

If you are sending a termination notice, the date on which your notice is received by the insurance carrier is not the date on which you sent it. Among the biggest health insurance funds in Switzerland are among others: A number of websites are available where you can make comparisons with your health insurance company: What does Schweizer Versicherung cover?

Switzerland's systems do not provide coverage for family members, but for individual persons, so you will need a different insurance policy for each of them. As a rule, you will be billed a flat rate per month, which will vary depending on your health insurance provider. Every year, the charges of the health insurance funds in Switzerland are checked according to a number of different criteria, such as health care cost and corporate indebtedness.

As a result, insurance premia may fluctuate sharply from year to year if businesses do not recover them, as was recently shown when some low-price health insurers increased premia by 15-20 per cent year-on-year to offset inadequate reserve levels. Significant increases in the prices of health insurance contributions in Switzerland were agreed in 2017, which averaged 4.5 per cent and 3.5-7 per cent respectively across all cantons and insurance providers.

The health insurance contributions for offspring increased the most with an avarage of 5-10 per cent, which the Federal Health Office (AFI) announced because the existing contributions were not sufficient to pay for children's health-care. As a result of the increase, the annual health insurance contribution in 2017 is expected to reach CHF 447 per month. 1. Among the Kantons with the highest median cost of health insurance in 2017 are Basel-Stadt (CHF 567), Geneva (CHF 554), Vaud (CHF 495), Jura (CHF 488) and Basel-Landschaft (CHF 488).

Compared to this, Appenzell-Innerrhoden (CHF 348), Nidwalden (CHF 361), Ury (CHF 369), Zug (CHF 376) and Obwalden (CHF 376) were the five most favourable Swiss cantons. You can find a full listing of 2017 charges and information on premium rates by region here. In addition, the state health care system has a deductible, so you must at least contribute the first CHF 300 of your doctor's fee each year (no deductible for kids under the age of 18), and your health insurance only covers invoices for this deductible.

Irrespective of your retention, you must also cover 10 per cent of health costs up to a limit of CHF 700 per year, and CHF 350 per year for a child. In Switzerland, gestation, childbirth and postnatal treatment are free of charge and fully insured by statutory health insurance.

There are so many different health insurance providers and the amount of your premium varies depending on your particular situation, although it tends to be less expensive if you are under 25. Here you will find information on cost and premium calculation (for you and your family) or the health insurance premium of your country and information on how you can reduce your fee.

For more information, please refer to our full health care guidelines for Switzerland. In addition to buying the best product, there are other ways to lower the costs of your health insurance in Switzerland. As a rule, most health insurance companies in Switzerland provide these alternative offers in order to lower your projected periodic payments: Policies with a limited selection of doctors and health facilities (HMOs) can be selected.

A Telmed insurance can be taken out that requires you to call a phone company before being transferred to a physician or clinic. That means you get lower bonuses when you're well, but you have to get paid more when you get sick. The majority of health insurers in Switzerland provide a rebate on prepayments, usually around 2 per cent for one year in advance. However, this is not the case in Switzerland.

Governments provide a guideline on how to cut your bonuses and how to request a cut. A large number of people in Switzerland decide to supplement their insurance in order to gain better treatment or better housing if they are hospitalised. Personal health care can usually be taken out with either the same or a different insurance provider, and your health insurance rate is determined by a number of different variables, such as your health care provider's exposure to risks (based on your health history), the breadth of services you select, and your whereabouts.

As an EU/EFTA candidate with a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), you may be exempted from payment of your health insurance during your studies and, in some cases, by your relatives. Once you have received a request for insurance evidence in a written request, you can request an waiver including the submission of a copy of your EHIC together with an EHIC request document (these documents slightly differ according to where you are resident in Switzerland).

In addition, both EU and non-EU nationals can be exempted if they have domestic insurance that provides the same cover as the public health insurance in Switzerland. The insurance company must submit a signed declaration, known as "Form A", stating that your health insurance plan complies with Switzerland's health insurance regulations.

Unless you have health insurance that is acceptable in Switzerland, you must take out a health insurance policy with a local health insurance provider. How much does my health insurance in Switzerland include? Statutory health insurance is defined by statute and applies to all providers, including: State health insurance cannot be legally dependent on individual circumstances, and any chosen insurance provider is obliged to approve your claim regardless of your rating, health risk, condition or qualifying time.

Several health insurance companies cover mountaineering but you should review your policies. Except for dentistry due to an injury or serious disease, tooth examinations and treatments are not insured by your health insurance. Schoolchildren in Switzerland usually have their dentures examined by a local doctor once a year.

In order to meet the costs of dentistry, many individuals take out supplementary insurance in addition to their health insurance packages. If you go to the physician, you must take your health insurance with you. As a rule, if charges are made, you must first settle the doctor's bill and then request a refund from your underwriter.

It is possible that your insurance company has made a contract for immediate payments with certain specialist physicians where you do not have to make the full advance payments. As a rule, you are free to select any physician in Switzerland, provided that your insurance does not restrict which physicians you may use (this may be the case if you have chosen a more favourable policy).

A physician can be found at www.doktor. ch or www.doctorfmh.ch. As an alternative, the health section of the Swiss Yellow Pages provides a list of medical specialists from physicians to dental practitioners. There are three different kinds of ward in Swiss hospitals: general (rooms for several patients), semi-private (rooms for two patients) and privat (rooms for one patient).

As a rule, your Schweizer Krankenkasse only covers entry to the general department, so if you want to change to a semi-private or privately insured room, you may have to bear the costs yourself or take out insurance. Once you have been either hospitalized or by your physician, you must usually repay the bill within a specified amount of time and return a copy to your insurance provider for a refund.

Sometimes the clinic will bill your insurance directly and your insurance provider will instead invoice you for your unpaid portion. When you call an Ambulance, you must bear part of the cost of the Emergency Medical Service itself - it is not fully paid for by the Schweizer Krankenkasse - so you can consider another means of transportation if the person is physically fit enough.

You can always visit the closest ER and take your health insurance with you. Please see our listing of Switzerland's helpline numbers. At any time you can ask yourself whether the chemist has a generically licensed copy for lower-cost. In Switzerland, all employees are legally obliged to take out insurance against accidents, which includes those working from home, cleaners, voluntary and interns.

Personal injury insurance provides cover for both work-related and non-work-related injuries, i.e. injuries occurring during one' s free spare times. Individuals working more than eight working days for one and the same company are included in their employer's system, while other types such as the self-employed, college graduates, retired people and other jobless people should consider taking out insurance against work-related injuries in addition to their health insurance.

In Switzerland, if you are not able to work due to sickness, your employer will usually need a medical confirmation from the third working day of your absence and will have to cover your wage for a certain time. When you are ill during your holidays, your medical certificates can reduce your absence.

Find out more about Swiss national insurance and services. Public health insurance in Switzerland.