Hi friends
I am working for a software company in India and will be traveling to Zurich in mid March. My wife is pregnant and we are expecting a baby in mid September 2012.
Can anybody answer my below queries:
1. Will the insurance cover the pregnancy expenses?
2. Does the child get Swiss citizenship?


Awaiting your replies.

Thanks
Amit

Welcome and look on the forum, you will find plenty of informations to answer your questions.

1. Yes, most expenses are covered. A search on the forum will reveal more.

2. No, Swiss citizenship is only conferred where one or both parents are Swiss. Simply being born in Switzerland does not give any rights to citizenship.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiss_nationality_law

1. Yes, get compulsory Swiss health insurance as soon as you register (has she got her permit yet?). Don't let your employer fob you off with "international" or "expat" insurances. There are many posts on here where people found out that for that sort of insurance, there was a cap on how much they would pay (usually a lot less than the hospital bills).

2. No, unless one of the parents is Swiss. Also, to get a birth certificate, your own papers must be up to scratch. That means birth and marriage certificates for you and your wife, notarised and legalised. Get them now, it can take a while to have them issued.

There are lots of threads on this already.

Try :
just found out I am pregnant- Insurance begins Dec 1
or
Insurance pregnancy help needed!
or
Health insurance cover when entering the country pregnant
or
Health insurance suggestions for pregnancy?

If you have any specific questions, just let us know!

thank you all for the very informative replies. that was very helpful.
I understand from my employer that during my stay in Zurich Me and my family will be covered under the "Xundheit (the current local insurance service provider) “Standard Classic Package”

Is this cover applicable if my wife is pregnant while entering Zurich?
Is it advisable to upgrade to "Comfort" or "Semi Private" packages from Xundheit?

Thanks in advance.
Amit

I just googled Xundheit to find a name change to Sympany...
"Die Xundheit ist ein Tochterunternehmen der Sympany Gruppe und tritt ab dem 1. Januar 2011 unter dem Namen Sympany auf." see http://www.sympany.ch/en/xundheit.htm

Mind you I read Sympany but my mind thought sympathy... interesting name choice

Back to the topic...

On their website it says for people moving to Switzerland they have "Multilingual team offering expert advice by phone or mail" see http://www.sympany.ch/private/en/ang...egeschweiz.htm

That should help.

Yes, basic insurance covers you for pre-existing conditions also. "Comfort" or "Semi-Private" is mainly linked to the level of comfort in the hospital (bearing in mind that unlike the UK or India, there are no hospital wards in Switzerland, ie Basic Insurance is a two- or three-bed room already). Have the difference in premium explained to you. There's also a "family" option which may be good value.

On the other hand, what is important is to choose a low excess for your wife and your child - you already know there will are substantial bills coming, and the lower premium for a higher excess will not make up for this.

Just don't forget to arrange insurance for the baby before it is born. Some insurance companies give you the cover for the first month of baby's life free of charge.

Here is a copy of the 'Living and working in Switzerland' info document I was given when I first started working here. On page 37, there is an explanation of what the compulsory insurance should cover in terms of maternity healthcare and financial conditions. It's in English.

It's a little out of date (2009 I think) but should still be valid.

Attached Files

Living and Working in Switzerland.pdf (635.2 KB, 612 views)

Hi all
thanks for the quick and very helpful replies.

Thank you very much.
Amit

just want to add that most of basic insurance only cover 7 appointment and 2 ultrasound starting from weeks 12 (from my Obgyn).

so if your first appointment with Obgyn is at wk 8 you will have to pay it by yourself (deductible in franchise) and you might be offered a vaginal ultra sound for a price (mine was 150 chf). for the blood works my Obgyn also offered to check for taxoplasmosis for around 100 chf.

i heard that CSS offers 8 appointment but i do not know if it also start from wk 12 or not.

It also covers any extra appointments/ultrasounds deemed medically necessary by your ObGyn. Why did you have to pay for the Toxiplasmosis test? It is part of routine pregnancy screening and was covered by my insurance. I also never had to pay out of pocket for any early ultrasounds.

NB: These will almost certainly have to be less than six-months old.

Remember that every single company offers the exact same coverage for basic insurance - whether related to pregnancy or anything else.
Therefore, CSS will cover 7 check-ups in their basic insurance (same as everyone else).

They may offer more in some of their supplementary packages as do most companies.

Hope this helps?

but in the brochure it clearly say 8 check up

that was what my Obgyn told me. I asked my friend and she said it doesn't include in basic insurance. every month she has to pay for toxoplasmasis screening by herself. we have different insurance and different obgyn.


i checked comparis and it said that Insurers must cover costs for 7 routine examinations (2 of which may be uterus scans, between the 10th and 12th as well as between the 20th a nd 23rd week of pregnancy, more in case of a high-risk pregnancy). Since my first uterus scan is at 8th week, i need to pay it myself. my friend also confirm this.

Very odd, I agree, as every company has to offer the same amount by law.

With every company, they will pay for as many as are medically required.

I had two children on basic insurance, and ultrasounds were routinely done at every visit until around 5 months (afterwards, once I had controls at the hospital, and was seen by a midwife who did not do ultrasounds, for my second daughter I had an ultrasound every month, mostly to check on the placenta and give me cute pictures!). I also had toxoplasmosis tests done, without having to pay extra (I am negative, so had extra tests).

Maybe it is an issue of how the doctor fills out the form for the insurance companies? My ultrasounds (including one at 8 weeks, both pregnancies) were always done by my primary doctor, so there was not a separate ultrasound appointment. All labwork was done out-of-house and also covered by my insurance, not me or my doctor.

One aside, during my second pregnancy, the first visit and labs were initially rejected for coverage by my insurance company, but all I had to do was call them and tell them it was for a pregnancy and it became covered.

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Where are we going and what's with this handbasket?

update

Finally i sent all my invoice to EGK (blood test, toxoplasma, ultra scan, first appointment at 8th weeks).
I received 3 letters from EGK

First letter came a month ago. It said that i have to pay the iron supplement money to them. My obgyn prescribe me for iron supplement. At Sun Pharmacy, they told me that i didn't need to pay for it. the insurance will pay it. Apparently EGK disagree about that and asked me to reimburse it.

Second letter came a couple of weeks ago. It said that they have rcvd the invoice from Dianalabs for the toxoplasma test and they have transfer the full amount into my account directly . Apparently, Dianalabs also sent the invoice to EGK so it came first. so i received the money before i paid it.

Third letter just arrived today. It came in reply to all the reimbursement that i sent :

• 1st appointment with my Obgyn at 8th weeks was my responsibility therefore they will not reimburse it

• ultrascan at 8th weeks was my responsibility therefore they will not reimburse it

• a week after my 1st appointment, i have other appointment for pap smear and they will not reimburse it too

• other blood test done on my first appointment ( iron, glucose, trombosite, etc) was my responsibility too and will not be reimburse

• apparently Unilabs has sent EGK the invoice for my first trimester screening blood test done at weeks 12 directly. I, myself hasn't received the invoice thus i haven't paid it yet. EGK said that this is also my responsibility and therefore i have to paid the amount to EGK. I assumed that means that EGK has paid it directly, even though it said nothing about it. Which is a little bit weird, previous instead of paying it directly to dianalabs, they gave me the money.

I am confused. I understand from my Obgyn that ultrascan and appointment at 8th weeks will not be reimburse. So i can accept it.
But shouldn't the blood test, pap smear test get reimburse?


i didn't know about the second appointment at 12th weeks. i haven't send it to EGK. Hopefully they will reimburse it once it sent.

You should have paid for the toxoplasma test. It isn't covered by the pregnancy benefits anymore. Or at least I was told that when I went for my first check up.

I'd gather the ultrasound and appointment at 8 weeks wasn't covered because it's a bit early for a first appointment.

The blood test should all be covered

http://www.bag.admin.ch/themen/krank...x.html?lang=en