Would like to know if standard yearly medicals are part of the regular medical coverage or is it like a regular visit. Also looking for an English speaking doctor in the Vevey / Montreux area?

They don't exist here.

Tom

I'm not sure what you mean by a standard medical...

But once you've paid your franchise then all visits to a general doctor are covered, with you paying 10% of the bill.

(And if like me you have a lot of medical visits, once you've paid over 700 chf on top of your franchise, all visits will be covered).

If you're thinking of having a general blood test just to check everything's fine, I have those once a year and they're covered.

I might be able to give you the name of an English speaking doctor - my parents live near you and I think their doctor speaks English.

You can go to the doctor any time you like if you feel the need, and it will be covered by insurance[1] if s/he agrees that it's necessary. If you request lots of blood tests that the doc doesn't think are justified, you may find your InsCo refuses to pay for them.

[1] Subject to normal conditions like your franchise, etc.

Just asked my parents - they speak to their doctor in French and aren't confident of her English skills.

But you could try searching here, where you can search for a doctor by a number of criteria, including languages spoken. Not as good as a personal recommendation I know... but I found my current doctor there and she's very good.

Another tip, if you ring up a doctor and find they're not taking on new patients (happens a lot) is to ask the receptionist if they know of another doctor in the area who is taking on new patients.

If you mean a physical (blood pressure, cholesterol, making sure you're up on your vaccinations, etc.), you can get these but they're treated as a normal visit by your insurance (i.e. they're not specifically covered). You can also get something more fancy, up to and including a full body scan to check for tumors. Again, not specifically covered.

Some insurers cover check ups. E.g. Swica, with Completa Preventa top-up option, you get: 90 % of costs up to a max. of CHF 500 every 3 years