Switzerland offers one of the best healthcare infrastructure and services to its citizens, but like everything else in this developed country, it is quite expensive. If you do not understand the system and plan properly, it is actually unaffordable.
What sets the healthcare system of Switzerland apart from other countries is that it is funded through mandatory personal insurance, rather than through government subsidies. Actually, if we analyze how the different healthcare systems have evolved over the past few decades, it makes a lot of sense. In Switzerland, you can insure almost everything. For health insurance comparison, it starts with the basic compulsory insurance as mandated by the Swiss Federal Healthcare Act. Accordingly, all permanent and temporary residents are required to sign up for basic insurance from any one of the government-approved insurance providers. Failing which, the government agency will assign you an insurance policy, which will most probably be beyond your requirements, and too expensive to afford.
There are several checks in place by the government to ensure that the insurance providers do not charge exorbitant premiums. The Federal Office of Public Health is ultimately the agency that oversees the delegation of healthcare responsibilities while ensuring that a fair ecosystem for all public and private stakeholders. The insurance providers must offer uniform health insurance to all applicants without pursuing profits in the basic insurance coverage.
Insurance is an individual responsibility, so you are responsible for ensuring that you have an adequate cover over and above the basic insurance to handle any medical assistance you require. Start your health insurance comparison alongside planning your move to Switzerland, because you must sign up for insurance within three months of entering the country. Though the good news is that whichever basic insurance you sign up for will be activated retrospectively, and your medical bills are reimbursed from the date of entry. Failing to do a health insurance comparison and signing up will not only mean an additional surcharge but your expenses will not be reimbursed either.
It is not so difficult to perform a comprehensive health insurance comparison [Refer Website in Italian] if you know where to look for the relevant information and obtain health insurance quotes. Here are a few pointers to help smoothen your health insurance comparison process:
Basic health insurance cover
Basic health insurance is the foundation of health insurance in Switzerland. It covers almost all physician consultation and treatment. Even if you require some additional treatment not covered by your insurance, your physician will inform you. So, when you start your health insurance comparison, it is better to first create a list of all your healthcare requirements, for example, physiotherapy, nursing care at home or in a nursing home, etc., you can check the FOPH publications to confirm all the available facilities in basic health insurance. Even x-rays and other analyses are also usually covered in this insurance, but you can check them once during health insurance comparison.
Additional/ Supplementary Insurance cover
In case you require additional medical procedures, make sure to do a health insurance comparison accordingly. If you prefer premium care at healthcare facilities outside your canton of residence, or for a private hospital stay, or any of the other vast range of healthcare services, you must be aware that they are not covered by basic insurance. Make sure to consider them separately during your health insurance comparison.
Where to get health insurance comparison and quotes
Start health insurance comparison with the official insurance data published by the Federal Office of Public Health to help choose the best insurance for you. You can check the list of approved health insurers to the complete overview of premiums and other data, you can find all of it on their websites.
Health insurance comparison is also based on the HMO centers and GP network areas, which too are crucial in choosing your preferred health insurance policy.
Where to do Health Insurance Comparison online
All insurance providers must provide the same benefits to all the policyholders. But there are still quite a few differences in the quality of healthcare facilities and services according to the provider, which is obviously based on higher premiums. During a health insurance comparison, try to balance all the important factors for you with the lowest possible premiums so you can expect the best solution for you.
How to Compare Premiums
The FOPH insurance data can be quite comprehensive and overwhelming, which can be divided according to the canton, providers, co-payments, reimbursement and other factors. Start your health insurance comparison with this data, which you can get online or download from their website.
You should also consider third-party health insurance comparison websites which offer a more streamlined approach for your search.
Compare Notice Periods
Few insurance providers require three months’ notice to change your policy, whereas some can only be changed after a year. Make sure to check this while doing your health insurance comparison.
CONCLUSION
Consider private health insurance comparison websites to avail tools to check your requirements for health insurance comparison and choose the right solution. Make sure to also check for additional factors such as customer satisfaction for responsiveness, flexibility, and others which are important to provide a safe health insurance experience.
