Swiss Healthcare System

Swiss healthcare is outstanding. Its combined public, subsidised private and totally private healthcare system create an extensive network of highly qualified doctors and hospitals, the best equipped medical facilities and no waiting lists, but it all comes at a price: around 10 percent of the average Swiss salary goes towards health insurance premiums. ­ There is no free state health service in Switzerland.

Unlike other European countries, the Swiss healthcare system is not tax based or financed by employers but is paid for by the individual through contributions into health insurance schemes. The system is universal but it is administered by individual cantons. This means that everyone living in Switzerland must have basic health and accident insurance (Soziale Krankenversicherung / Assurance maladie / Assicurazione-Mallatie). You pay monthly premiums to the insurer and you also have to pay a contribution towards the cost of medical consultations and treatments. Each family member must be insured individually. Babies are insured from birth but to continue cover, you have to take out health insurance for a child within three months of the birth. Children don’t need to be insured by the same company as their parents. As at 2014, an adult pays around 400 CHF in health insurance premiums.

If you are in Switzerland for less than three months, you may be exempted from the requirement for holding basic health insurance if you have an European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), your own health insurance policy, travel insurance or a company healthcare plan. Continue reading at http://www.expatica.com

Useful Links:

https://www.ch.ch/en/health-insurance/
http://www.englishforum.ch/insurance/2198-health-insurance-faqs.html
http://www.swupp.ch or https://comparis.ch – Insurance provider comparison.

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