Thanks, I learned something new. I didn’t know you only had to pay the difference between the cost in your canton of domicile and the target canton of choice.
I need to understand the costs and see if I still need my complementary insurance.
thanks
Your welcome. It’s exactly the same rule as applies to hospital treatment for medical emergencies outside of Switzerland.
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Complementary health insurance has its pros and cons and it really depends on your personal situation. However, I would always recommend people to at least get the worldwide coverage option while you can. This is because of the following reasons:
- It is fairly cheap. I think an additional 10-15 francs a month or even cheaper.
- It is super annoying to arrange a proper medical insurance when traveling once you get older. If you see yourself as someone who would like to have the option to travel extensively for the rest of your lives, then this is definitely worth it. Even when you are young, it is far better to have coverage via your primary Swiss medical insurance instead of dealing with a 3rd party travel insurance which almost never cover pre-existing conditions. Good luck reading all the fine print and the phone calls when you do need to deal with a medical emergency.
- It is true that currently it only comes into play where health insurance is much more expensive than Switzerland. But that already includes countries like USA and Japan. Furthermore, you have no clue what the situation will be like in 20-30 years.
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Abroad medical costs are covered by mandatory health insurance up to 200% of the Swiss costs. Is there a point in increasing with complementary health insurance?
Probably only if you go to the US or Japan and need an hearth transplant or something like that.
Seeing the news lately, for the US it might be necessary even if you get an Aspirine from the ER… 
@Cortana Like I mentioned in point 3, 200% is already not enough for several countries and you don’t know what the situation will be like down the road. I have had a lot of experience trying to arrange a medical insurance for my elderly parents and it is not fun. I don’t want to be in a situation where my travel choices are dictated by health insurance. Risk vs. reward is a no brainer for my lifestyle.
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The insurer will refund the double of what the insurer would have paid in CH, not what the patient paid.
As the canton pays 55%, the insurer pays 45%. So outside CH, they will pay 90% (not 200%)
“In countries outside the EU/EFTA, the costs of urgent medical treatment will be reimbursed up to a maximum of twice the amount that the insurer would have paid if the treatment had been provided in Switzerland. In the case of inpatient treatment, however, this means that the insurer will reimburse no more than 90% of the costs that would have arisen for hospitalisation in Switzerland. This is because, in the case of hospital treatment in Switzerland, at least 55% of the costs are borne by the cantons, which is not the case for hospital stays abroad; the insurer thus reimburses a maximum of 45% for each hospital stay in Switzerland.”
Note: if it’s an accident, your employer insurance should cover it fully.
Like I mentionned, this is wrong.
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Wow, I was not aware of that. See, FINE PRINT. No one should be going to USA, Canada, and few other countries without an additional travel medical insurance.
In short, yes,
However, if you’re an employee and it’s an accident. You will mostly be cover if it’s a disease, it’s going to be messy. The line between accident and disease is sometimes not clear.
I’ve heard a story about that but I’ve mostly forgot it. We should opena a new thread about it.
Basically, you must pay attention even in Switzerland when you talk to your doctor/insurance about an accident you had at work. If you fall at work because some dumb person took his dog there and you just fall and injure yourself somehow, if you go straight to the ER it’s insured, if you wait and go home or something, it’s not anymore insured, but falls under something else and your health insurance should pay (with all deductible etc.).
I am not 100% sure of this example, I know only that you should pay attention because the job insurance might say it’s an health insurance thing.
Even without the fine print I was sure I’d make an insurance before going there. See, they pay 90% max, which for other places (say Thailand) it’s still very well enough if you believed they paid 100% of it. For the USA, 90% or 100% won’t change, it’s still probably not enough.
Just noting : In general you can make a travel insurance for short period travel (up to 6 months), and in general they don’t ask your medical history even.
And it is including care and transport back home in case of illness/emergency.
So as long you are insured in Switzerland, no need to take a full fetched insurance in my opinion.
Things often get iffy after you reach a certain age when suddenly they no longer want to cover things and then it is too late for complementary part too. Anyways, for me the extra insurance is peanuts in the overall scheme of things and not worth the effort or time to always checking if I need the extra insurance or not.
I have even seen it for up to 365 days. There is also no age restriction.
You can get an international health coverage for emergencies from TCS Livret ETI for about 250CHF/year
TCS ETI
- Without age limit nor exclusions on pre-existing conditions
- This will cover other useful things like exclusion of CDW on rented cars, travel cancellation,…
That said, the cost is similar to a basic complimentary health insurance (EG: CSS myFlex Outpatient ) that includes emergencies abroad and will also cover many other health related things in Switzerland (see list).
good point, always read the conditions…
This is very close to misleading advertising, in the summary is stated:
Frais de guérison à l’étranger, illimité
. Aucune limite d’âge, aucune exclusion.
And instead in the CGA 1.16 Exclusions générales you can read that a preexisting condition is excluded.
I have read the terms and conditions for dozens of travel insurance and also called a few for clarifications. Based on my experience, I can confidently state that having your travel health insurance covered by your primary Swiss health insurance is the best money you can spend if you’re a travel affecionado.
Trying to optimize fifty-sixty francs annually is not worth the risk at all. I am not even convinced if there is any saving especially if you have an annual travel policy. Just like you shouldn’t mix your investments with insurances, you shouldn’t mix your health insurance with travel insurance, if possible. Not to mention, the last thing you want to do in middle of a health emergency in a different country is to deal with two different insurances and two different set of policies. Just my two cents. Shrugs
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You can get a travel insurance from your health insurance. I’m not sure how they will then behave. I’ve read one and they also don’t include preexisting conditions. I wonder if it’s the same for the complementary insurance and also if they really mean things like high pressure etc.
You are a bit contradictory there, or am I misunderstanding?
To add to the topic - I am with Swica and have their Optima/Top/Praeventa package (gym, dental hygiene, massage and preventive stuff covered, alongside treatment abroad and some more).
I could have phrased that slightly differently. However, I don’t want to go further into it. I have done my research and read all the fine prints. If someone thinks that they are better served with a travel insurance for emergency medical needs abroad, then I can only hope that they have also done their homework.
Also, lifestyle matters here. For me traveling is my main discretionary spending. It is also my main motivator for FI. Any uncertainty in the form of insurances is not an acceptable risk, especially for a potential real saving of less than 100 francs a year. If you have an annual travel insurance plan with a medical component from a well-known insurer, the actual savings are significantly less (if any at all).
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