I have been living in UK for quiet a while and was used to the free ambulanceservice in terms of an urgent emergent situation. today I learnt that it is notfree at all in Switzerland!..

I am considering of inviting my ganny to come over for x'mas, and given herhealth status, I don't exclude there might be circumstance that there might bean unfortunate situation (hence we want to spend maybe the few x'mas we canhave together..)...any one that is kind enough to suggest how much it mightcost in such a situation if I call 114?

Thanks a bunch in advanced

Accident bill just arrived

Ambulance and health insurance

Confusion with basic insurance cover - help please,

An emergency in CH - What would you do?

Swiss Health model versus NHS

Late night medical emergency...

Surely your Grandmother would have travel insurance that would cover the cost if she was unfortunate enough to need it?

Great of you to invite your Granny. But it is essential she takes out travel insurance including health/accident. If she does fall ill when in CH, the cost of the ambulance will be the very least of your worries - as hospital bills can run into 10000s (add a few more zeros).

For those who have Swiss insurance, ambulance journeys are normally NOT covered by basic Insurance, but by most complementary insurances.

Edit - Smackerjack, our posts crossed.

And if you are hoping that someone comes to pick up Granny, you might want to call 144

It would be best for everyone if you call your local doctor first. This is how it is done here. He can then give emergency treatment (Quicker than taking Granny to the emergency department of a hospital) and decide if she needs to go to hospital. Patient's insurance will then pay, as the doctor ordered it.

Surely Yeak's Insurance will not pay for Granny's ambulance or hospital treatment- unless Granny is insured herself

Thanks. Patient's insurance will then pay for the ambulance.

Just for reference - check out this list of things paid under Basic Insurance here in Switzerland.

This is course doesn't apply to an insurance specifically taken out for a holiday period.

I can't find any exact tariff, but here is a statement, that he was charged CHF 1'350 for a 5 Km ambulance ride with the emergency doctor.

.... per Notarzteinsatz in ein 5 km entferntes Hospital eingeliefert werden. Dort wurde ich 1 Tag medizinisch betreut und dann entlassen. Jetzt erhielt ich für diesen Krankentransport eine Rechnung von CHF 1'350,00
http://www.gutefrage.net/frage/arbei...keit-wer-zahlt

Can you get granny a rega policy? For chf 30, I think most emergency transport would be covered.

Rega helicopter rescue is usually taken on top of normal Insurance.
And will certainly NOT cover medical expenses, be it GP, or hospital. Proper travel Insurance covering accident and illness is really the only way. Is your Granny from an EU country with a proper reciprocal treaty with Switzerland? In which case she needs to get an EHIC insurance card prior to travel - but even if she does, it will only cover an emergency and NOT pre-existing conditions I'm afraid.

Seems reasonable (well, for certain lax definitions of "reasonable"). I think it must be around 500 just for the driver getting into the car and then a hefty km-charge seems to apply.
That's probably the reason my SWICA help-line suggested I call a taxi instead ;-)

In the case mentioned above, the "victim" had an accident in Switzerland, next to the German border, and was driven to a German hospital by a Swiss ambulance. I bet he wished he had taken a taxi, too ;-)

Many emergencies can be fixed up by a local doctor. But if you aren't bleeding then yes, go ahead and get a taxi, it is cheaper!

There was a thread here recently: a member's child fell over in the playground, and a passer-by called an ambulance. The mother was faced with a large bill. Is she reading this, and can she add some hard facts? Personally I find it strange that a stranger can order an ambulance and then escape paying for it.

Hey, hopefully you won't need any medical service but replying to your question, 4 years ago my mother in law had an accident in Vevey (she fell on the street and stayed unconscious) so someone called the ambulance and they took her to the hospital in Montreux. Few months later, we received the bill and I remember that the cost for the ambulance that night was 800 CHF. As my in laws are not residents here we got the bill for both, ambulance & hospital but her insurance in the UK covered the cost of everything. Thankfully my mother in law recovered from that accident and we have never been in need of that service again. As I previously said, hopefully you won't need any ambulance or doctor so you all can enjoy the holidays with the family. Cheers! M

I'm not that member... but just over a year ago I had a severe panic attack at a train station and someone called an ambulance... I got landed with the bill, the insurance paid half and I had to pay the other half. I can't remember the amount... but I can confirm that you are responsible for part of the ambulance bill, even if you haven't ordered the ambulance.

Good to know, all. My folks are coming for a visit next year, and my mother has some health issues associated with advancing age, so I would take this into consideration for when they come!

Right, although Rega's not just helicopter, it's transport...but I misunderstood what the OP was asking about.

My Father in law, from the Netherlands was hospitalized here with shortness of breath - it was a congestive heart failure situation. He was in hospital for a couple of days, we contacted his insurance in the Netherlands, and his Dutch insurance paid the bill. We drove him to the hospital after talking to the emergency doctor in our area so transport wasn't an issue. It was a pre-existing condition, but covered under his usual EU insurance.

So check what granny has, and maybe top off with some sort of supplement if her regular insurance doesn't cover it.

If your relatives travel from the US, definitely read the small print on your policies. You may have to lay out money for emergencies and get reimbursed later unless you have a travel policy.

I called a co-worker who lived not far away. He drove me to the hospital.
There, they found I had a fracture of the femoral neck bone....

Hello, that was me! So our final bill for a call out to the park and a 5 minute journey to the hospital was 758fr for the ambulance plus 606 for the cardiomobile. The cardiomobile was sent by the hospital itself so basic insurance for my son covered almost 90% of that but for the ambulance we got back almost 50%. Definitely take a taxi if it is not life threatening!

As for the stranger calling a taxi I don't know the rules there, she certainly got away with it because we left with the ambulance! There may have been some sort of miscommunication due to the language barrier as my French is only basic and she knew no English at all.

Also when we first got here we called an ambulance for my son (yes another one!), he'd cut his finger deeply and was bleeding everywhere, we didn't have a car at the time, knew no taxi numbers, my boyfriend is a bit rubbish with blood, I nearly passed out because I'd had a sickness bug all day, hadn't eaten and was exhausted...just for the call out (when the paramedics turned up they told us to get a taxi to the hospital)we were charged 445 and we have not had any money back for it. So just be careful :-)