Hi all,

I have looked other threads before posting as much as possible but there are a few exceptions in my case so I had to start this thread. I welcome all comments.

I have started working in Geneva last month and my wife will join me after Xmas. We intend to stay for 1 year. We learned that she is pregnant and by the time she comes here, she will be 4 months pregnant. I am a british national and she is Turkish but we both have turkish passports (i dont know if this makes any difference). We both have permanent residency. I didnt have time to apply for british passport before starting here. anyway this is another issue I am trying to resolve.

We are both covered by a private health and travel insurance in UK as well as nhs of course.

1) Do we need to have health insurance here
2) Does she need to have a residency permit or can it be linked to my work permit
3) can she have a choice of c section? will this be covered by insurance although it is purely by choice? if not (i guess not) what is the aprox cost and what part of it is covered by the insurance. I mean can I pay the cost of op only and the rest covered by insurance?
4) what is the cost of insurance for both of us

Many Thanks in advance

yilmazms

1. Yes. Also see this thread.
2. Perhaps someone else can answer this.
3. Yes. It's up to the Doctor and patient to decide.
4. Go to Comparis.ch for quotations.

child birth is fully covered by insurance. anything you have to pay yourself will be dependant on the franchise level.

you should, however take insurance for the baby about three months before it's born.

2. Yes and it will be linked to your work permit. You haven't clarified whether your application was made based on the UK or Turkish passport.
In the latter case, the processing of your wife's residence permit may be longer - I would apply right now if I were you.

Just to clarify this.
The franchise (excess) does not apply to a normal pregnancy but, if you have to have any type of medicine this is regarded as illness and the excess applies.

Re elective c-section, while she may be able to chose to have this, it will not be covered by the Krankenkasse. Can't tell you how much it'd cost.

Also, as she is arriving, and taking out health insurance while already pregnant, the Krankenkasse is obliged to cover it, but it will be minimum cover, ie she won't be able to pick and chose doctors, hospial etc, or at least this was the case when I arrived in CH 6 months pg

A bit clarification:

I am a consultant so I will continue to be based out of London but working for a client in UK. I have all insurances you can think of from my company regarding health. Do I still have to have insurance here? I may leave CH before end of next year. My wife is on my policy.

I applied for the WP with my Turkish passport because I cant give my passport to authorities for 3 weeks for applying for a british passport.

I am budgeting this move so need to know how much this will cost to my employer

Yes, unless the insurance you have is considered at least equivalent to the Swiss insurance, which takes time and formalities. It's really your call, but think what happens if your wife needs to give birth and shortly before that you'll find out your UK insurance is not accepted in Switzerland and / or does not cover giving birth abroad.

yeah you're right. normal pregnancy yes. some complications, no

Even then you are not quite right. Some medications that you can be given by your doctor as part of your pregnancy are not covered and this then falls under your franchise. "Nicht Kassenpflichtige Medikamente". ie insurance not obliged to cover. One thing that springs to mind is magnesium tablets instead of the magnesium poweder. C-Sections are covered as long as the doctor can justify, which is incredibly straightforward as they just need to say due to patient nerves or worry. That said the chance of complications from a C section is many times more than with natural birth according to some report in England this week. If you can avoid it you should. Go for epidural if worried about the pain.

To the OP you don't actually say what permit you got or have you not got it yet. If you have not got it yet there is no guarantee they will actually allow your wife in if you are on a short term contract. Just as info...

To the cost note that your wife will not be able to have anything other than basic cover as she is already pregnant. You can choose whatever you want...

I did some investigation. Apparently, any UK national working in Switzerland are entitled to have state health insurance (basic cover) for free of charge as long as he continues to pay NI contributions. This will be the case because I will continue to be based and paid in UK.
This is valid for British nationals and dependants of them regardless of their nationality (which is also my case)

This is the official statement:

A European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) entitles you to reduced-cost, sometimes free, medical treatment that becomes necessary while you're in a European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland.

Specific rules for Switzerland:

===What treatment is covered and what will I be charged for?===

• You will normally have to pay the full costs for treatment and services and claim a refund afterwards. You will have to pay a fixed charge for each 30-day period of treatment. This is known as the 'excess charge' or 'patient's contribution' and is not refunded. It is recommended that all visitors take out adequate private travel insurance.
• Doctors and dentists: go to any doctor registered with the Swiss health insurance scheme. Dental treatment is not covered unless it results from serious illness or accident.
• Hospital treatment: you will normally be referred to a public hospital by a doctor. In an emergency, go directly to the emergency department of any public hospital. In-patient treatment in a general ward of a public hospital is covered, but not in a semi-private or private ward, or in a private hospital. As well as the excess charge, you will have to pay a small, non-refundable, fixed daily in-patient charge for the cost of board and accommodation.
• Ambulance travel: you will have to pay 50 per cent of the costs of ambulance transport within Switzerland, including air ambulance.

===Who handles reimbursements?===The Common Institution the Federal Sickness Insurance Act (Gemeinsame Einrichtung KVG).

===What documentation do I need to claim money back?===Original receipts.





This is all good but the amout which are non refundable are not specifically stated. Does anyone know how much does this 'excess charge' or 'patient's contribution' is and fixed daily in-patient charge for the cost of board and accommodation????

I may go for cover for my wife only if these charges can be more than the premiums I pay for the insurance in CH....

Has anyone gone through this route?

Mesut

I guess I am right that I dont need additional insurance ???

I believe if you work here (and have applied for a permit under your Turkish passport) implies you will have to be paid out of Switzerland, not London - even if budgetwise you're on London's P&L.

In that case you'd better make sure someone pays your NI contributions.

Not sure if it is mentioned yet but Comparis says that to avoid bills not being recognized as related to pregnancy in the eyes of the insurance company, ask your doctor to CLEARLY specify on the bill that it is related to pregnancy/mutterschaft...

It is a good idea to tell your insurance company yourself that you are pregnant, if you do not inform them they can deny payment even if all the bills are pregnancy related.

I am not an HR expert but I think our company needs to run a second payroll from our Geneva offices but this will not replace my current payroll hence NI contributions in UK.
This means that I am covered but I am not sure about those extra charges that they have mentioned. Is there somewhere in Geneva I can ask these questions?

To be on the safe side, I am thinking of getting the insurance for my wife only.