Dear all,

I tried to find an answer in the various threads, but I couldn't find a definite one; I hope I didn't miss it.

I have a question on health insurance in Switzerland.

Here my situation: I am Italian and I will be starting an MAS at ETH of Zurich in September, of the duration of 1 year. DUring this year I will not be working. I will be guaranteed for my living-in-Switzerland costs by my partner that is working there.
I have an European Health Insurance Card, and at ETH told me that for the MAS duration I can ask for an exemption to the Swiss health Insurance law and not take a basic health private insurance in Switzerland.

At this point I would like to understand, if anyone has experienced this:
1) what does the EHIC covers? Only emergencies or also normal visits (e.g. I have a flu and I need a doctor to tell me what it is and how to treat it..), dental care, etc? I read official documents but this is not clear.
2) Is it possible to take a complementary insurance or an accident insurance with a swiss private insurance company if I will not have a basic health insurance?

Thank you for your answer and information.

Silvia

You can ask... but you won't get. They will insist on Swiss health insurance.

The EHIC only entitles you to health care at the same cost as a local resident (and is meant for tourists). As the Swiss don't have free health care, it is billed to their insurance, even with the EHIC you would get big bills.

I knew many EU students at ETH that got this exemption. Some students also got swisscare on top of whatever coverage they had from their own country. I think it depends on the country.

I don't recommend swisscare if you have any real health issues. It can cause problems since it's not really on the same level as regular LaMaL coverage.

Did you bother to look at ETH's website?

https://www.ethz.ch/en/studies/inter...insurance.html

Dear Medea,

of course I looked ETH website, I have all the documentation. I also went to ETH for additional information but, as far as I could read, nothing is written concerning WHAT is covered by EHIC - it is covered what basic Swiss health insurance covers, or what Italian state insurance covers? If I am wrong and I couldn't find it, please let me know.

Thank you,

Silvia

EHIC covers emergencies only.

Check your national insurer, he is the one who issues the EHIC and is setting the rules what is covered and what is not: according to national and EU laws.

*@Odile, for OP could be very important what this emergencies are, for example from NHS: The EHIC will cover any medical treatment that becomes necessary during your trip, such as an illness or accident. it is not necessary the same division as Swiss have between the accident/illness coverage, and EHIC could be enough.
There could also be local particularities, like you will have to go home for more expensive treatment, they will cover only to the same as it would cost at home etc.

From the ETH website you have already been given, https://www.ethz.ch/en/studies/inter...insurance.html
it states,

Exemption from compulsory health insurance

Under certain circumstances, you may be exempt from having to take out compulsory health insurance in Switzerland. This applies in particular to holders of the European Health Insurance Card, and to privately insured non-EU citizens whose insurer is acknowledged by the Swiss authorities.

Detailed information on how to apply for such an exemption can be found in the

"Guidelines to an exemption from compulsory health insurance" (PDF, 30 KB).

On the reverse side you will find a list of helpful health insurance FAQ's.

I would personally recommend that you get a student health insurance product, such as CSS Student Care (equivalent to Grundversicherung).
https://www.css.ch/de/home/unternehm...dent_care.html

It is low-cost (less than CHF100/month) and you will have peace of mind.
If you have an emergency while only covered by EHIC, there will be lots of stressful bureaucracy involved.

When I was a student, I had the EHIC and Swisscare. It turned out that I was very lucky to be covered by Swisscare when I got pregnant while still a student. I think (but am not sure) that pregnancy would not be covered by EHIC (it is not an emergency, after all). Swisscare covered everything and reimbursed me relatively fast, but I had to pay for all visits to the doctor in advance (some visits cost CHF400-500, including tests). With CSS Student Care, you do not have to pay in advance in most cases.

Hi,
"Art. 2, par. 4 KVV Exempt from the Swiss compulsory health insurance are persons staying in Switzerland within the scope of an education or further education, namely students, pupils, interns, trainees as well as their accompanying family members if they possess the same insurance cover."


What you have to do:

1) ask the S1 document to your ASL before moving (see here)
2) Enroll to LAMal (read here for more info). Somewhere in the website there should be also the list of what is covered, but you can ask them.
3) Ask for the exemption

If in Italy they will not provide you the S1, you can directly subscribe a Swisscare insurance (they will ask for your the exemption)

Good luck!

Thank you everybody for your really useful answers!
I will now look at all the documentation provided and take all your suggestion into consideration in my evaluation.
Thank you again!

Silvia