Hi, no, no notice period needed. However, I would give them a copy of your definitive departure attestation as soon as you have it in case they have to reimburse you. e.g. if you've paid car insurance for the year and are leaving before the 31.12.
You'll need a Swiss bank account open to receive the reimbursement.

Need to sort out (finally) some supplementary insurance.

We are REGA patrons (http://www.rega.ch/), in that case is there any point in taking out cover for transportation? You've helpfully reminded me of why supplementary is a good idea wrt hospitalisation, but I'm not sure of the transport (or are they not separate options?)

We are selecting now insurance for the whole family. Our student one is over (6 years limit) and for our daughter we look for smth cheaper.

Our daughter has now supplementary insurance from Sana24 and it didn't really pay off so far. Only visit of osteopath was covered by it and was still cheaper than extra we paid during her two years of life. It is supposed to cover dental correction (partially of course) - not regular dantist visits, but I don't see much sence in this at her age. I'd maybe make her supplementary dental at her 4 years or so.

Please advise me on the following:

• does it make sense to change daughters model to GP - she is going to pediatritian anyway first? should I check first if the company accepts our pediatritian?
• did anyone ever really use any kind of supplementary for their children? from which age it makes sense? examples would be helpful! I do not consider any special known needs of the child.
• accident insurance is provided by the company you work (if it's more than 8h/week) - what exactly it covers? does it depend on the company? do I need to do any extra accident insurance myself?
• last years we didn't visit doctors often and I think of taking GP or MedCall model without any supplement (maybe only one which covers fitness). can I keep my genecologist in this case? is it only with HMO model that I have a limited choice here?

Thanks!

p.s. I know, as soon as you say you don't need any doctors, it's not truth any more - hope it won't be the case

Any advices?

I imagine that CSS Studentcare didn't sign you up because they knew it would be rejected by the canton.
The cantons all function differently with regards to the cheap student insurance so it really depends on where you're living.
As far as I'm aware, being EU or not doesn't make any difference.

If your canton refused the student insurance then chances are that he'll have to get the normal Swiss insurance.

With regards to which one is "best", it's impossible to say.
If there was just one company which was reasonably priced and had the best cover for everyone, we wouldn't have all this fun at the end of every year!

__________________
Inswift Sàrl

Thanks for a help! We are still hoping to buy a cheap student one. I am trying to find something about international student insurance (not swiss one). Someone told me that there exist such option, may be he was wrong.

I'm sure they do exist but it's more a case of having your canton accept them as an official alternative to Swiss basic insurance than anything else.

Hello,

I am living/studying/working in Lausanne as PhD student, and I have taken my health insurance from CSS Studentcare.

My husband got family reunification visa, so he will come next month to apply for residence permit (for family reunification), and after a week or two he will go back home abroad because he need to finish some things there.
So he may come in December again for a week or two, but we are planning that he will move here in January.

So, I wanted to ask two things.
1. Should he get health insurance as soon as he come here the first time or he may wait until January? Is it counting 3 months from when you have applied for residence permit, or from when you have been continuously in the country for 3 months?
2. Is the health insurance obligatory for getting the residence permit, in a sense that if you don't get health insurance you may get your permit later?
3. When my husband will come here he will try to find a job, but in meanwhile he will be unemployed, so is there some special offer if he is unemployed, or can he be insured somehow over my insurance?
4. Are there some family packages with which we can both be insured with one contract, or we must to pay separately for both of us?


Thank you in advance.
Ana

The insurance is compulsory from the moment you're registered as a resident.

You have 90 days to show proof of insurance to your commune/population office from the 1st official day of arrival.

The insurance is individual in Switzerland so there are no family packages as such. You will both need your own individual insurances.

You don't need your actual permit to apply for health insurance but you do need to be registered as a resident.
It's compulsory but it is also only available to Swiss residents.

Hope this answers your questions

Hi, i am not sure about any Insurance companies which is suitable for you, but i suggest you that you search, there are many companies and then you select of your own choice.

My agent told me that there is a discounts for families (if family buy insurance in one company). May be i got her wrong.

Not for the basic insurance there isn't.

With some companies, there may be a discount with some specific supplementary products. It may or may not be worth it.
e.g. if your children can get a 10% discount on their supplementary.
Let's say their supplementary costs 15.- a month, that's a 1.50 discount.

It depends on the company but with the basic insurance, there aren't any discounts.

Hi,

I want to change my basic insurance to save money. Since 4 years that I live in CH and I never visited the doctor, just because I have a 2500 franchise that I will have to pay mostly every single consult that I will do.
I have a standard coverage and want to change either to HMO or GP (Family doctor) models.

Which is the best according to real world examples? or your opinion based on your experience?

If i choose HMO, I have to choose from a list of doctors that the insurance provide. Then he will answer me and redirect me to specialist if needed, right?
If i choose a GP, he will do exactly the same?
what is the difference?
Do I have to pay for consultation to the doctor in both ways?

Personally, I think the best option is the one that works for you best.

It doesn't sounds like you have a GP currently, but if you did, then there would be no point in choosing an HMO/HAM model with a list of doctors if your doctor isn't on there.

Both methods work in exactly the same way - you have to visit your nominated doctor first before seeing a specialist.

Whichever doctor you visit will bill you for his/her consultation.
Remember that specialists bill you more than a GP would so if your GP manages to deal with your ailment without the intervention of a specialist, then it would cost you less than if you went to see a specialist directly.

Some companies are pretty strict with their GP methods - e.g. you cannot choose a GP who has a speciality (e.g. homeopathy/rheumatology).

And most companies reserve the right to payments (if you've reached your deductible) if you don't go through your nominated doctor first.

There are exceptions to the rule - gynacology, opticians, dentists, emergencies, etc. - with all companies and all alternative models.

One last thing to remember is that not all companies offer all alternative methods though these days most of them do have at least one to choose from.

Hope this helps

__________________
Inswift Sàrl

Thanks for the Answer.
I dont have a GP. I am foreigner here so my GP is in my home country. So If i choose the GP model or the HMO in both ways I will have to choose a doctor. Not sure if a GP will be better, as you can maybe have a more personal relationship as doctor- patient and then you can influence him to get you to the right specialists or get orders to special studies in your body. You know, sometimes you can know better what is your problem and which diagnostics you have to carry on to have a proper picture of the problem.
Then maybe HMO is more un-personal, they give you less attention?

But at the end I think that this models HMO or GP cost more than standard, cause you have to visit/pay 2 doctors (GP then Specialist). If you have a pain in your back, you know exactly what the GP will say, but you want to visit a specialist to make proper diagnostics.
When in Standard model you can just choose the right doctor /specialist and pay only once.

Am I correct?

thank you

The 200 francs difference between HMO and Standard models is the difference you will have to pay for just 1 consultation to your GP if you are in the HMO model. I am thinking on changing from Sanitas to Atupri. Its a bit cheaper.

I just spent 15 chuffs on some cold & flu meds (over the counter). Should I be using my insurance card to pay for incidental meds like this or are they not covered unless I go the whole hog and get a medical professional involved?

They would only be covered if they were prescribed and also appear on the "Speciality List" ("liste des spécialités) which is the list of medication covered by the basic insurance.

Also, don't forget that they are subjected to your annual deductible so even if you had a prescription for them etc., they may be covered but not necessarily reimbursed. (i.e. they would be reimbursed as long as you've gone over your deductible).

Thanks Jenny, I was aware of the deductible and wondered if these minor expenses would chip away at it. It's obviously not a significant amount of money, I was just curious.

In all honesty, I had a feeling that a prescription would be required but the only way I could justify in my mind that a few ibuprofen cost around 10 times what they do in the UK was that insurers (or people via their deductibles) were footing the bill and inflating the price.

I have a question about the original post. Would be glad if someone could help me out. I'm leaving Switzerland (I have cancelled my health insurance) but will be in transit for 2 months. My travel insurance is Swiss, so if something happens while I'm travelling and before I get to the end destination (god forbid, an accident or serious illness), the insurance might fly me back to Switzerland instead of letting me get treatment in the country I'm travelling in. If this is the case (I won't cancel my residence permit), as mentioned in the original post, would I simply get an insurance policy once I'm in Switzerland and have the costs covered normally when the policy is in place , or would I have to pay for the medical bills myself because the I don't have an insurance when landing in the country?

Thanks!