I'd like to share something about TradiConsult (maybe especially applicable to PhD living & working in Kanton Aargau):

I'm a PhD living in Kanton Aargau (AG) and insured with TradiConsult (TC) since January 2005. The health department of Kanton AG (HDAG) gave me a 3-year exemption from the general Swiss health insurance (Befreiung von der KV-pflicht in der Schweiz). After this I have to go to a Swiss general health insurance company. So far I have not much to complain about TC. They paid my medical bills alright.

My colleague from France who started her PhD in September 2006 (she also lives in Kanton AG) went for Swisscare initially, but then came the round letter earlier this year stating that Swisscare is not accepted in Kanton AG anymore. So she tried to change to TC, but did not get an exemption from the HDAG either. The HDAG said they "recently" put TC on their black list (something about money problem between TC and kanton AG, I don't have the details, though).

I'd recommend any PhD who is considering to get a cheap Swiss health insurance to confirm first with the health department of his/her respective kanton before signing the contract. It may be a hassle to get the money back from the insurance company in case an exemption is not granted.

for the purpose of comparison, the following link will take you to a table of average costs for basic health insurance, according to canton.

the url is also listed below

http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/e.../praemien.html

Ok, I checked out Swisscare but they say this:

This is strange because Neuchatel has the exemption form online, but nevertheless, it could be true the Neuchatel office refuses to acknowledge Swisscare because they refused us a similar company.

Canton Zurich does accept outside insurance (tradiconsult, swisscare etc) but it's a real hassle to get them to accept it. The whole process for me took about 10 months. With several documents sent (multiple times) and several calls to them by my advisors secretary.

It appears that GoldenCare is another option within this type of insurance. However, their insurance does not appear to be available to researchers, but only to students. There are students in my department, in canton Vaud, who are currently covered using this.

Hello people,

I have a question on the insurance issue. I currently have a swiss insurance (Sanitas) for my wife. From this month, she is a student. Is it possible to convert to Swisscare/Tradiconsult in the middle of the annual policy ? Just wondering if someone has a clue .. Thanks.

If your existing insurer is not increasing the premium for next year then you have to give them notice that you wish to terminate at the 31st December and you must do this before the end of this month. If they are increasing the premium for next year you can give notice up to one month after being advised of the increase.

Your existing insurance will then terminate 31st December providing your old insurer receives confirmation from your new insurer that they now have the risk.

In the case of these student policies they are not the same as a normal Swiss police so I think you would have to get written approval from the canton that they will accept it.

PS: as you're new to the forum why not post an introduction ?

Introducing ourselves, we are a couple from India working as researchers in EPFL (Lausanne) in Computer Science. We have been in Switzerland for 2 years now.. We used the englishforum.ch several times, and really appreciate the forum for its promptness and helpfulness!

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Hi
I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet, but Swisscare is not only good for students/post-docs but also for their family members (lucky me). And though they cater to young people, they still cover all maternity expenses (in which case you don't have to pay upfront for all services, eg delivery); perhaps this coverage is required by the KVG-LAMA scheme, not sure.
Found them to be really appropriate for young people. Beats the heck out of what I was paying (and getting in return) back home!
L.

My school suggested another plan for foreign students and interns on B Permits that costs CHF 80 per month. I think it's through an insurance collective [assurance collective] called ''Student Care'' in Geneva.

It seems to be backed by CSS (www.css.ch), but I couldn't find plan details on the website. If anyone's interested, here are the contact details:

Agence Student Care
14, boulevard James-Fazy
CH-1201 Genève
022 901 19 66
022 901 19 14
delia.crea@bluewin.ch

Ohhhhh thank you!!!
At this moment I don't have any insurance. I thought that Erasmus programm was in charge of it.
I'm surprised about how I'm wrong time after time since I'm here x'D

Hello everyone
i haven't been posting for a while but i keep reading the forum very often. I found this thread to be very useful, i gave a look to swisscare.ch and it seems to be alright. i have a question for you folks. I just moved since the beginning of september to Zürich for a PhD at the ETH and in january i'll be moving to Thun, as part of the PhD program, where my wife will join me. What should i do with the health insurance? tell swisscare i'm here 'till end of december and then move to Thun? i mean, how does it work?
thanks a lot

I would like a bit of clarification... I am shortly starting in a new job in Zurich. My wife is a Ph.D. student there and is insured with Swisscare. Do you mean that I could still enroll for Swisscare since my wife is a student?

I’m not quite sure what your question is. Are you asking about changing Kantons or including your wife ?
Whatever it is why not phone the Swisscare helpline ?

i think you are right, what i wrote was a bit confusing; actually i was asking two questions, what should i do with the health insurance when i move to a different canton, from ZH to Bern? and the second question: when my wife comes here if she can be insured with swisscare as well?
thanks again

According to their website family members can be included. However, you should first check that the Kanton will accept Swisscare instead of a normal Swiss policy.

As mention earlier in this thread the Swisscare policy is NOT the same as a normal policy and before going into this you would be well advised to understand the difference. In particular carefully read the conditions and see if any of the exclusions might apply to you. For example, pre-existing medical conditions are excluded and things like mountain hiking without a guide, canoeing and any self defence sports are all considered dangerous and excluded.

Have a look at the claim form and you will see that claims are dealt with by a company in France. You have to pay the bills yourself and send them, along with receipts, to the French company so you should ensure that you always have sufficient funds available.

When buying insurance, if you are offered something far cheaper than normal always exercise caution and understand exactly what you are getting, or not getting !

I think you would have to ask the new canton if they will accept Swisscare and, of course, advise the insurer of your new address.

According to their website family members can be included.

Hy guys,
Having read this topic, i just remembered one thing that i need to look further into: the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). Has anybody heard of it?
Proven that you still pay for health insurance in your home country, you get medical costs covered in case of accident and illness when you leave abroad to either travel or study, and it's free, won't have to pay anything. It applies to EU countries and Switzerland only. Everybody has the right to get this card. You can read here to see to whom it applies and other details.

http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Policyandgui...and/DH_4114794

To me it looks like a great solution for students.
I am not a student anymore, but i think this might work just fine. When I came here couple of mnths ago, my employer and the insurance comp. told me that the only way i can be exempted from paying health ins. here is to prove that I am insured back home. When asked the NH in my country about it they said the EHIC card would be the best way to prove I am insured there...

You will find information about this on this thread. Your profile does not say what country you come from. If it's the UK then your cover under the NHS stops after you've been resident in another country for 3 months and will only start again when you move your residence back to the UK.
The European system is intended for emergency treatment when you are visiting another country and not for when you take up residence there.
If you are longer resident in your home country, and therefore not paying for health care, you obviously can't expect to get it for nothing !

I have posted this regarding EHIC as I read this on the UK Department of Health site:

==="Studying in another EEA country or Switzerland===If you are ordinarily resident in the UK but are studying, or planning to study, in another EEA country or Switzerland as part of a UK course, you'll need an EHIC for yourself and any dependants who go with you. You can only apply by post, and must enclose the following information with your completed application form:

• name and address of UK educational institution
• address where studying overseas
• period of study
• details of qualification that you are studying for.

If your studies are not a compulsory part of a UK course, you will be eligible for a UK-issued EHIC for the first 12 months only. After that you will need to obtain healthcare cover from the country that you are studying in or buy private insurance. Again, you can only apply for your EHIC by post, and must enclose the following information with your completed application form:

• address where studying overseas
• period of study
• details of qualification that you are studying for."