I´m in the process of planning my move to Switzerland and am trying to understand the Swiss medical system (beginning to grasp the basics). I have lived in both the UK and Germany, where much of your health care is "free" (ie you don´t fork out on the spot (it´s taken from your salary!)). So, what I´ve gathered is that in Switzerland you decide how much you will pay per year for your own healthcare and on this basis your premium is decided. Swisscare was recommended to me as the cheapest. However, I have a hearing difficulty and Swisscare do not cover anything for that. In the UK, everything for me was covered (hearing aid, batteries), in Germany the health insurance pay 50% for a new hearing aid every 5 years and also for a special phone, but not batteries.
Is there anyone here who has some knowledge on (a) whether insurance companies cover anything at all for hearing disabled people and (b) any links that I could follow up for more information.

Thanks in advance for your help!

I don't think we've covered your specific case (people with hearing difficulties), but we have covered a lot of stuff about how the health insurance system works, and the various options, browse or search for this info in either the insurance or family matters sections of this forum.

Quick tips: if you are simply buying the basic minimum insurance product then do shop around - it's impossible for someone to say who is the cheapest, premium vary based on age, gender, and (wait for it....) where you live. I used comparis.ch each year to pick the cheapest company for me and I change accordingly. If you are after additional insurances this can be a little more complicated, and unlike the basic insurance companies do not have to accept you.

I did have a friend who had a hearing aid. The insurance paid all the basic costs for it, but he wanted a super-small version which cost a lot of money. He had to wait 10 years for this, but he got it in the end (or he could have paid for it himself if he wanted it sooner).

Hi Mark,

Thanks a lot for the reply - indeed I have been reading through the forums on Swiss healthcare in general and the forums here have been a great source of information. But I didn´t find anything specific for people with hearing difficulties, so I guess apart from the specific questions in my post above, I also need to know whether I am going to have to limit my comparison of Swiss health care insurance providers to a few, or if care for hearing disabled people is not covered at all if I can just choose my insurance based on the basic minimum insurance product and use comparis.ch as you suggest.

Somewhere there is a big giant master list of exactly what is and what isn't covered by the basic insurance - does anyone know where this is? It's not likely to be in English, but it would tell you exactly what you'll get in the hearing department so to speak. Since the basic insurance covers the same thing with all companies the comparison will be easier.

the list of what all insurers must cover is here (trade body's web site, German only):
http://www.santesuisse.ch/publicatio...rsicherung.htm

however, there is nothing specific about hearing problems or aids, nor could I find anything searching my insurer's web site for some specifics. My uneducated guess is that coverage for hearing problems will vary widely from insurer to insurer, and may not be as favorable as in the UK.

Hi there,

As far as I understand it hearing aids and treatment for "long term" or disabilites are not usually covered by the normal health insurance. The social "invaliden Rente" (pension for disabled) pay a percentage of hearing aids...

To be honest, I would call the health insurance you wish to go with and ask them directly.

Hi everyone, thanks a lot for your investigations and feedback. Just one other question - could I have my basic insurance and "hearing disability" insurance from different companies or must they be from the same one?

Check this out:

Is there a pension for Swiss deaf people?

Many thanks for the links!

hearing aids and all connected paraphernalia such as special flashlight alarmclocks/doorbell warners/batteries for said hearing aids etc etc are covered by the Invalids insurance ( IV/AI) in switzerland the 'normal' health insurance does not cover it and in fact it may even be a problem when u want to join a new insurance,they send you detailed questionnaire and if you mention there that you are hearing impaired and need aids etcetc, then they might EXCLUDE their liability to cough up when you need to go to the ENT in connection with your hearing problem...........


Apparently there is some interest in this particular topic, so I will try and assemble a sort of general post regarding being hearing impaired in switzerland and what's on offer for the afflicted.

I hope this is ok with the mods!!

Cheers

EE,
who lost almost all her hearing in the last 30 years ..............

Rather! Go on EE, lets have some resources - please...

Thanks EE, that would be wonderful Please let me know where you post the info!!