Indeed, which is why I have a 2k deductible, and my wife a 300!

Tom

Thank you all for interesting info, I made my mind and will go for lower franchise, higer premiums (300).
Btw, what comparis.ch shows is exactly the same as assura web page shows, they have quite a detailed page, where you enter your post code, age etc. and then you select additional options (and there are many) and resulting sum is updated.
For me it's also psychological matter - having some minor "injury", that doesn't hurt much - now I would just ignore it or put little bit stress on that part and hope it gets well later. But it can be beginning of more serious issue, especially in wrists, shoulders, ankles, knees etc. where there are so many things that can break, rip, inflame and otherwise go wrong.
Having the luxury of not caring about cost of treatment somehow grants me more will to take more care for my body, since there will be no other

The way I understood the link was you must adjust your franchise by those specific dates.

Your insurance model so standard, HMO, GP etc. you are able to change any time, but your franchise would stay the same.

I'm also considering the same change (as well as from GPO model to the generic one).
I have a friend who's a medical doctor and insists that I do some general checks of my health because I'm approaching 30 ( ), and I may need to do an operation for something I've had for years.
Is there any way Assura would find it foul that I change my policy (after having had the cheapest option during 2011) and deny to pay for these things?

Absolutely not, this is not foul play, it is perfectly legitimate to move from 2500 to 300 because you think you will be better off in light of planned operations.

One medical issue this year (a strep infection in my throat) ended up costing over 4000chf and I'm still dealing with the aftermath since I'm going to have to monitor everything until the end of the year. I'm really glad I have the low franchise though.

I doubt they would prevent you from getting the different franchise, people change policies when their health improves or deteriorates.

Actually you are not saving the huge amount you may think.

As an example I will use Assura´s standard plan for canton Vaud (I imagine similar differences in other locations and/or with other insurers).
Franchise of CHF300: 356,2 CHF/month. You pay 356,2 x 12 = 4274,4 in yearly fees. Add 300 which is your franchise and 10% of 3700 ==> CHF 4944,4 in total.
Franchise of CHF 2500: 236,9 CHF/month. You pay 236,9 x 12 = 2842,8 for the year. Plus the 2500 plus the 10% ==> CHF 5492,8

You saved 550 francs.
Whereas if you didn't have any medical fees, with a 2500 franchise you save more than 1400 francs/year.
So my advice is to go for a low franchise only if you are almost certain you will need it next year. If you don't plan to do anything, I suppose you can bet 550 francs for 1400.
A 2500 is better for any total of medical costs of up to 1800 francs.

For me it's been closer to 2.4k! (CHF 200/month)

Definitely worth it.

Tom

If that was the only medical problem I had, you would be right. But I also don't want to bank my health on being worried on how much another visit to the doctor will cost. Just to cure my case of strep, I had to go to the permanence clinic four times for three different rounds of antibiotics, and I did wait until I was feeling quite ill, if i'd been worrying about the 2500chf franchise, I would have had to have pneumonia before I decided to go. I'm still not sure if the doctor was incompetent or it was a particularly resistant bacteria though.

Another concern is being female, I need a yearly appointment with my gynecologist. I called 8 before I found one in Zurich and it cost me about 500chf for what I routinely screened for in Canada. That included the dr. fees and all the lab work.

Two screening tests I had to have in February for a condition I currently have in remission ended up costing a crazy 1200chf with a specialist. I remember having to go to the hospital for these tests in Canada, but I didn't realise they could be this expensive.

I've done my homework, things pop up. I also don't want to sit at home weighing my options until I'm too sick and must go to the doctor or risk certain death as I've seen many of my American friends do. Maybe it's because I've never actually paid for a doctor before moving here, but I don't think the thought of the cost of the doctor should ever enter the equation if you're sick or need to maintain your health.

I'm not saying you should limit your visits to the doctor, I am saying that having a CHF 300 franchise saves you not that much after all in comparison to the cheapest one (CHF 2500).
This is the case regardless of how much you your total costs for the year are.

The problem is that almost everyone on a fixed income is going to step into the grey area of jeopardizing their health in order to save a few bucks. And I don't want to be in that position.

Had I had a 2500chf franchise, I would have likely foregone the screening test I'm supposed to have done every year for my past illness-- that i doubt is ever going to come back, but that I should really keep checking. I would have ordered my birth control from the internet and avoided the gynecologist, and I likely would have allowed my throat infection to progress into a full-blown pneumonia before seeing anyone in order to save money.

I don't really want to be in a position to even have to worry about it- money and medical concerns should not intersect in practice. I would pay the extra amount every month for that peace of mind..

Are you both under different policies? I was pretty sure since we are all covered under my husband's policy we all had to choose the same model.

For our family of 5 it was something on the order of 400 a month iirc

Yes, my kids as well. All policies are separate (my wife even has a different provider).

Tom

That's not true, it's whether you pay up front (low franchise with high monthly payment) or you pay IF AND WHEN you need it, (high franchise with low monthly premium)

It's all a question of how much personnal responsibility and risk you are ready to take, we are talking about a difference of Chf 550 extra per year with a high franchise. For me, there is far more chance i will not go to the doctor, therfore i take this model. I feel the benefits far outweigh the additinoal risk of having to pay an additional Chf 550.--

Each and everyone to themselves, it's been well explained now.