Hi There,

I think it is important to understand that for the most part, basic health insurance refers to the type of treatment you require and not the person/place that provides the treatment. All costs relating to pregnancy, other than say a private room in the hospital, are covered by basic insurance.

The normal procedure is that when you visit a doctor/consultant for the first time, they ask you to fill out some forms and provide health insurance details. At this stage they will normally inform you if your treatment will not be covered by the insurance. So if the GO you visited did not tell you that the insurance covers their fees, it is reasonable to assume that it will be covered by your insurance.

One thing to remember about the insurance is that depending on the franchise you have chosen, the first X amount of costs will not be covered. So for example if you have selected a franchise of say CHF1,500, then the insurance only kicks in after you have covered the first CHF1,500 of expenses. For this reason it is important to keep all the invoices you receive in respect of medical expenses.

Another point to keep in mind is that the health insurance will not normally cover hospital stays outside the kanton, unless there is a special reason such as you were taken there as a result of an accident, you needed special treatment that was not available else were and so on.

Concerning your health care, I would suggest that you should rely more on your family doctor for advice. Make an appointment with them and discuss all your concerns etc. while they may not be the experts, they will at least be able to advise you on who you need to visit etc..

Later on when it comes near to delivery time, you should sign on at the hospital for their "tour of the facilities". During this session, you will get to meet the staff, see the ward and birthing rooms, get information about the documents you need to bring with you and your husband will be shown where he has to go to do all the registration stuff. Which is important if you are a foreigner and don't know the language, as at least it will be one less thing to worry about on the big day.

Most communities also offer a course for new parents, which can be useful if you understand the language, as you get a chance to find out about all the services they offer, meet the local child care professionals, get advice on the standard child care products used in Switzerland and so on. Depending on where you live, these courses are often offered in different languages, so be sure to check it out.

Good luck with that,

Jim.