According to this article price increases for health insurance premiums will increase by an average of 4%, 0-20% depending on provider.
Article is only in German and French. If anyone has info in Engish would be good.

Remember you only have two chances each year to register that you wish to cancel. June 30th and Decemeber 31st. This must be done either 3 months or 1 month respectively in advance. See here on Comparis for more details

I believe if the price rises you can cancel with 1 months notice.

According to the Comparis article it is 1 month for changing at end of year and 3 months for a mid year change, ie write to them by 30th of March for cancelling for the 30th June.

Main text
"Basic health insurance

To cancel for 31 December, the cancellation letter (by registered mail) must reach the current health insurance provider by 30 November or the last working day of November, respectively. This cancellation deadline is irrespective of whether the new premium is higher, lower or remains the same.
To cancel for 30 June, the cancellation letter (by registered mail) must reach the current health insurance provider by 31 March or the last working day of March, respectively. This applies only to policyholders with a deductible of CHF 300 (children: CHF 0) and a standard basic insurance policy (no alternative insurance models such as HMO or Telmed). In all other cases, changing to a new insurance provider is possible only for the end of the calendar year.
Policyholders whose premiums are increasing mid-year must be informed by their insurance provider by the end of April. In this case, they have until the end of May to terminate the contract and switch to another insurance provider to commence on 1 July."

If the premium moves by 1 cent you can cancel, and this is either way, up or down on any insurance contract.

The premiums for 2016 are unknown as yet and won't be known until September/October, anything published today is idle speculation and designed to frighten you into singing up for a new policy by the insurance brokers.

Period.

Got a call yesterday from someone in Basel asking whether I am aware of the premium rise and whether my insurance provider has informed me of this ("as required by law"). I was having my lunch- so told them to call me later. No call yet.

It's impossible, they have not yet been announced and in any case they have to be approved at cantonal/Federal level before being announced.

Anything else is PURE specualtion

Probably some telemarketing, see this thread. I had something similar, also from Basel, they were desparate to make an appointment.

Tell them to piss off.. marketing junk.

Frankly, I fail to see any problem at all.

Minimum cancel period means "no later than", AFAIK there's no "not earlier than" date to cancel. Cancel now as per end of year and you have all options open until late december:

i) if you decide to really switch, pick the new provider and have them handle the thing, they'll gladly be of service. This can be done on very short notice as the deadline for the new insurance to confirm to the old insurance that there is a new insurer is december 31 (though better not let it get *that* close, with public holidays and all)
ii) if you decide to not switch, but change the insurance (different deductible perhaps) you can most probably do so by phone, and also on very short notice because you cant threaten to switch altogether otherwise (see above)
iii) if you eventually decide to not change anything, don't do anything at all, and the insurance will just keep running as is

Don't hang me up on this, but I think you need to have minimum deductible in order to be able to cancel mid-year.

Note:
Many health insurance providers welcome if you pay in 2 or one installments for the full year, offer a small incentive (e.g. 1% rebate for one lump payment, and 0,5% for 2 half-year payments). It's not much, but better a little than nothing a all.

Same number!

If your premium has changed, only by 5 Rappen, you can terminate your health insurance the latest by 31st December - do note most insurers won't work on the 31st, so ensure they have received it by 30th December.

The confirmation from the new health insurer can still be received by the health insurer you leave in January. Often the cancellation letter you sign will be prepared by your new health insurer, who instantly confirm your acceptance with them.

Some insurers have a 3 or even 5 year insurance term, so you can't always terminate your health insurance. Check up in your terms and conditions.

Comparis is good, but it won't show the discount you maybe get via your employers contract with a health insurer - for example Migros

Read Post N°4 !!! the fact if the premium changes means you can cancel within a notice period !

The insurance company needs notification by 30 Nov for cancellation on 31 Dec, what you write it utter tosh !

No insurance company has a 2,3,4 or 5 year policy, they are ALL 1 year policies as set out in LaMAL (That's the governing law for health insurance)

Discount is what you employer may negotiate with ONE insurance company, depending on level of cover, cheaper policies with other companies, notably Assura may work out cheaper but less coverage.

You best off not posting such inaccuracies it it very misleading