Although there is nothing in the policy BUPA are hinting they will not pay the full stay in hospital here as it is 'longer' than what they deem medically necessary. I believe the standard stay here is about 6 days and they are talking of covering only three.

• How many nights were you in Hospital here for a 'normal' (no complications) birth?
• If you had International health insurance (especially BUPA) did they cover the whole stay?

Whilst I have no experience of BUPA in this regard, they will have no choice but to accept the local advice of a local professional on a local stay in a local hospital. Unless there is explicit references in the terms of cover and policy, they cannot dictate ahead of time how long you will need to recover etc. If a Dr signs you off for the 6 days of recovery , after the birth, then who are they to argue ? I am sure the Dr will give you off all the time you need, as a medical necessity, and to hell with any Clerk at BUPA saying otherwise.


Fight them. Chastise the puny Clerk for causing pre-natal stress. Fart in their general direction.

Do you not have basic Swiss insurance too? For a no complications birth I think you can leave when you want. They allow 6 days but I don't think you have to stay 6 days

Pretty sure BUPA excludes child birth, which is one of the reasons it's not accepted by the Switzerland in place of the legally required insurance. It's what BUPA told me in 1999, as I am male it did not seem a huge issue to me!

We have Swiss compulsory insurance, plus use BUPA Intl for private cover. So basic costs will be paid by CH insurer, and additional private costs (private room plus extra Doctor costs) we want BUPA to pay under the Maternity benefits.

Our old BUPA policy didn't cover it, but they now have a new one which does, up to GBP 6500 for a normal birth, plus necessary ceasarian etc. and cover for the child for 3 months etc

(It's for the wife of course...)

Then if the costs are less than £6500 you should be in the clear, might be worth a quick thone call with BUPA international.

That's exactly what I thought and did but they started talking about it being too long - hence my post to ask about what other's experiences were here in CH - how long they were in hospital and if any issues with non-swiss insurances.

If it's standard practice here & your cover includes CH then I don't think they have a leg to stand on.

Hopefully all will go well and your wife will probably prefer to go home after 3 days if she is anything like me. I'm sure she can say that she prefers to go home - will you be there, or somebody else to help for a few days settling in?

Yes, she could hopefully come home after 3 days like you, and I will be here, but we would like at least to be covered for the standard 6 days and am hoping to find out how long people actually stayed in hospital here in CH to find out what is the norm. in practice.

Typical under Swiss insurance is 5 days for normal delivery and 7 days for cesarean.

Important: 5 days=5 24hrs periods from midnight, so if you get to hospital at 23, this will count as "1 day"

BUT

especially in the clinics they are quite happy to let you stay a couple more days at the slightest sign

My daughter had jaundice and we stayed 2 extra days, doc would have also allowed another 1-2 but we felt it was time to go home.

All I can say is find coverage that does not "rush you" as you do not know how you will react and after how long you will feel safe going home.

K

How many nights they let you stay depends on how mum and bubs are doing.

With my first, I was asked when I was leaving after 3 days. Baby was feeding great and we were both fine. There was no way they were letting me stay more than 4 nights, 5 full days. The maternity ward was full and they needed the room for someone else.

The second time they wouldn't discharge me until a min. of 5 nights. We had strep b infection, so needed monitoring every 4 hours and my baby had jaundice and had trouble latching on.

First time, I had enough after 3 days and I had to fight my way out. They wouldn't let me go home without having a appointment already booked for the day after with a midwife. The baby was all fine, but I was the one with a bad recovery.

This time, I hope I will be able to be out after the 4th day. (C-section)

In Canada, they kick you out after 24-48 hours (natural or C-section) Welcome to public system....

I asked at the hospital, and they confirmed what others have already said: With the Swiss insurance 5 nights are covered normally and 7 for a Ceasarian. Some leave earlier if all is well and they want to be at home.

I have a BUPA International insurance policy (through my husband's company - so maybe the corporate policies differ) and had a bit of a tough time getting them to pay the Swiss hospital bill for my normal birth (5 nights) last year. This was even though they had agreed it in advance and the total amount came under their very generous 'maternity entitlement'!

However, I kept at them and they eventually paid and were very courteous about the delay. The guy I dealt with in customer services was very helpful and was my direct contact throughout the whole thing. In the end, they even paid for my private midwife visits after I left the hospital.

I think BUPA just find things a bit strange in Switzerland - they had wanted a complete breakdown of all the charges incurred in the hospital (i.e. nursing, doctor, meds, accommodation etc), when all the hospital could give was an all-in-one 'package deal' price.

So, I would persist and keep them informed of everything and they should pay. Good luck!

I had international issurance but we checked it out thoroughly in advance, the clinic wanted a huge deposit in advance but we refused and got confirmation we would be covered under all circumstances.
Seven days inside was a nightmare for me but the child developed juandice before I could make my escape and I wasn't leaving him behind, so I stuck it out...
Got a very detailed bill which I have kept for him as a souveneir!

I actually got the copy of the very detailed bill the insurance paid from the Klinik without issue (had not even asked for it)

So I think this should be doable in most places and am actually surprised about the "all in 1 deal" as some things like having or not an epidural etc can make quite a difference on the price.

Unless the deal was for the upgrade? But for the stay and delivery itself it should be normal to get a breakdown.

K