I had a letter from sanitas today saying that they will take debt collection enforcement against me for unpaid invoices.
I have been told by sanitas due to my financial situation my invoices have been paused.

Why would they send me this when I only spoke to them the other day and they said everything is fine?

Call them, only they can tell you the reason.... perhaps the letter was already in the post.. but I find it hard to imagine everything could be fine, if you have bills outstanding...

Do you think that we work for Sanitas? Call them!

EDIT - Ahh justin you're back after a couple of months of inactivity... should we take this thread with a pinch of salt?

Hi Jim I had them paused that’s why

You had all invoices officially halted and you received written confirmation from them as evidence of this? Are you on social benefits?

Hi thanks for your reply

No I am not on any form of social benefit I didn’t know they did that out here
I earn around 1800 chf after tax monthly the rest is commission I rely on commission as I work in consultative sales

My rent is roughly 1350 a month I just try and live on what I have
I save money but not using trams and walking everywhere

So why justin, logically speaking, would you think that your health insurance company would just pause their payments when you can afford to pay them? And why did you ignore the part where I asked about them sending you written confirmation... did they or not?

This is all so familiar.

I have an agreement with them we spoke on the phone
I can’t afford to pay them after rent I have 600 chf give or take roughly

Speak to them again, preferably in person, and get something in writing.

Tom

Thanks Tom!

This sounds unlikely, to me, and perhaps the sanitas person who told you that made an error.
It is a great pity that you have only a phonecall to go on.

Here's my suggestion:

1. Do not delay!
   
   
2. Do not ignore the final payment reminder.
   
   
3. If you have not paid your premiums, then you do own them the money, and there is no way to get out of it. However: do the calculations yourself. Check which premiums you have paid, and make a list all those on which you defaulted, and check the legitimacy of any other bills they have sent you. Add those up and see whether their demand is correct, i.e. really is for the premiums (and any other of their bills) that you have not paid. If their demand is for more that you can see, query it. If you can see that you actually owe them even more than they are now demanding, you can be sure that further demands will follow.
   
   
4. Do not pay nothing. Pay at least part of the sum due, as much as you can scrape together, but at least Fr. 10, much better a few Fr. 100. If you are lucky, the mere fact that you paid something will take you out of the "never pays" category.
   
   
5. Do not try to arrange any of this by phone, unless you know the exact name of the person to whom you previously spoke. Even in that case, ask him to put whatever he said, in writing, to you, and if he does not, follow it up (go back to step 1.).
   
   
6. Write to them, using a registered letter. Keep a copy of the receipt-slip that you are given at the Post Office. Scan it or take a photo, as this slip tends to fade over time. Staple it to a copy of the letter you sent to them. This serves as proof that you have sent it.

Your letter should include your full name and address, and all their reference numbers, and ideally a copy of their letter, attached.

I am aware that I am in arrears with my payments for my medical insurance premiums. Unfortunately, I do not have the means to settle in full, now.

On DATE, I spoke to NAME by phone / in your offices, who told me that because of my financial situation the bills from Sanitas have been paused.

I was therefore surprised to receive your Final Payment Reminder of DATE.

I ask that you please stop the process of debt collection immediately.

Today I paid in the sum of NNN, as partial payment. I will continue to make partial payments.

Here, Justin, think about what you can reasonably do, and offer them a bit less than that. If you think you can pay in Fr. 170 (or Fr. 200) per month, to pay off your debt, then offer them Fr. 150. Then, try your level best to pay Fr. 170, or more, each month.

Understand that this amount will be to pay off the arrears, bit by bit, so you will be required to pay it in addition to your current monthy premiums.

This a very serious matter, in Switzerland. Do all that is in your power to try to prevent having a "Betreibung" against your name.

Once you've sorted out those steps and have a little space to breathe, again, then if you don't already have "Prämienverbilligung" (a state subsidy of your medical insurance premiums), I recommend that you ask someone to help you apply for them. Prämienverbilligung does not make your premiums free, but it can definitely take a bit of the sting out of them, and in the income range you're describing, that can be quite a relief.

You might be able to get help applying for Prämienverbilligung from your employer, if they have an HR department, or if you have a very kind boss, who might just help you put in the application.

Other than that, you could ask at one of the advice centres mentioned in your other threads. About Prämienverbilligung, about preventing a Betreibung, and about access to other services, perhaps food subsidies, etc., which could make your life easier.

If you can't afford to pay your health insurance then how do you save money each month? You wrote that you save money.

And no, you don't have an agreement to halt all payments, you probably just gave them the impression one of your payments for one bill would be late.

Sorry to hear you are in a difficult situation. But you need to seriously find cheaper accommodation asap, so you can afford to pay bills.

Am I entitled to any form of social security help?
I have applied for that however they never got back to me

Swiss Authorities Online has a webpage on this topic (English):

https://www.ch.ch/en/reductions-health-insurance/

Depends on the type of permit you have (or are Swiss).

Tom

Dude, you need to step away from your keyboard and seek advice from qualified people. The internet doesn't know if you're entitled to social help and doesn't know why Sanitas is sending you threatening letters.

Yawn....

In June you were looking to upgrade your apartment....
https://www.englishforum.ch/permits-...d-kingdom.html

In April you could afford driving lessons.....
https://www.englishforum.ch/general-...g-lessons.html

Now we are back to broke Justin again

Your being so rude and unreasonable