Hi Everyone, I have joined this forum as i would like to bring my little boy to Geneve for medical Treatment,I will give you all a quick outline of the story.My son was sent home to die by the clinicians in N.Ireland.I researched and found a hospital in Chicago that was able to treat him.We have had to fund the treament ourselves and have now being excilled here for 2yrs.We ahve the support of all political parties within N.Ireland who have continously lobbied our goverment to put the services in place so as i can bring my son home and he can continue his treatment.They refuse to help.As our funds are running low with the help of the consultant here in Chicago we have found a dr in Geneve who can help.Is it possible for me to get medical insurance for my little boy so i can bring him to geneve for treatment.We would of couse then also be nearer home and could possibly see our family every weekend.We don't nesseily want to reside in Geneve ,but if i have to i will.My son will regress and undoubtly die if he cant continue this treatment.Can any one help with urgent much needed advice?

Hi,

This link gives some info in English about the legal requirement for health insurance in Switzerland:

http://www.justlanded.com/english/Sw...alth-insurance

In your case, you are proposing to stay in Switzerland for a time while your son is being treated by the specialist - I am not sure how it works with the residency rules and so on.

I would also get in contact with the Geneva specialist as he may be able to advise on paying for the treatment.

This article may also be of interest - the link is an Irish one, however it points out that the same rules apply throughout the EU.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/ca...eatment_abroad

I really sympathise with your situation - it must be every parent's worst nightmare for a child to have a potentially fatal illness.

I hope others on this forum can give you more information as quickly as possible.

Cheers,
Nick

You may also need to consider an additional fact; many Swiss health insurance companies will not insure a person who has a severe known (pre-existing) medical condition. The ones that do, ask you to pay more.

Besides following the previous advice, ie. get in touch with the doctor to review the costs, I would also start contacting some health insurance companies in Switzerland to see what their policies are.

your doctor or the children's hospital in Geneva would be the most likely people to know if you can bring your son in and have him treated under the Swiss insurance system - if you are able to come and 'reside' in Switzerland then your health insurance monthly just for basic costs would be maybe 80chf a month for each child you have, plus around 200chf for each adult. There might also be a 'gap' fee of 10% for some things associated with the child's treatment, and you might also pay a lot of money before your health insurance kicks in for the adults.

Then there is the issue of some things not being covered at all by the compulsory insurance, and yes, you may well be knocked back completely for 'extra' coverage for a pre-existing condition - but if you can get residency then they would have to give compulsory without question...

We brought our son here, who has type 1 diabetes, and his medical costs are around 200-300chf a month, which the insurance pays, and we pay the insurance of 80 chf a month for him, but our total family insurance for basic plus some extras is about 800chf a month... So I figure, on balance, we are still paying in more than we take out...

This is not correct as far as the basic insurance is concerned. For the basic insurance you are accepted at normal terms irrespective of any pre-existing conditions. The companies cannot even ask about your medical condition.

For the supplementary insurance they can, and do, take pre-existing conditions into consideration. See this post for more details.

I assume from your short intro that you are in touch with your local MP? I would lobby that, as the health system is unable to support you there, they fund the treatment in another location.

In addition, there are often support groups for specific illnesses that you'll find on the Internet - they may have charitable supporters or donations that can help. They may also help you raise money through sponsored events to achieve your very clear goal.

Also consider contacting the institution in Geneva to see if they support cases where hardship is apparent. Treatments can be expensive - exhaust every avenue you can!

I suggest that you contact the doctor and confirm that the treatment he proposes would be covered under the basic insurance. (You’ll find details of the basic insurance cover here). If the answer is ‘yes’ then you would have to become resident in Switzerland in order to qualify for the insurance cover.

Hi Linneman,

Sorry to hear about your current situation

As far as the health insurance over here goes, you would have to be an official resident in order to get cover.

Blonaybear is right, he cannot be refused for basic health insurance and you can choose to have a 0.- deductible.
Therefore you would only be required to pay 10% of costs - maximum 350.- p.a. - plus your premiums.

However, you can only get insurance if you have proof of residence - a copy of your permits or something from the population office proving you live here.

If you don't have this, they class it as "tourist medical treatment" and they don't like it.
The basic insurance won't refuse him even though he has a pre-existing condition as it is compulsory for all Swiss residents.

Like a lot of things in Switzerland, the health insurance system is specific to Switzerland and it's residents.

As you're here for 2 years, does that make you an official resident?
If so, then any insurance company will accept him.

I would definitely persue the legal path too though.
As Boxman said, exhaust every avenue.

Good luck