Basic insurance is legally regulated in the Swiss Federal Health Insurance Act (KVG). In Switzerland, every person bears the costs of basic insurance himself. In the case of medical benefits, each insured person must pay the costs themselves up to a fixed annual fee, which is referred to as a deductible. There is also an excess of 10 percent for costs that go beyond the deductible. This is a maximum of CHF 700 for adults, for children a maximum of CHF 350.

The higher your deductible, the lower the premium. Adults can choose the appropriate deductible levels between CHF 300 and CHF 2500, for children deductible levels between CHF 0 and CHF 500 apply.

If you are employed by an employer for at least 8 hours per week, you are insured against non-occupational accidents and can exclude your accident cover from the basic insurance. This will allow you to reduce your premium by 5 percent.

The emergency number is printed on the front of your insurance card. In the myEGK app, you can find the emergency number under “Contact”.

Your call will be answered by Allianz Global Assistance.

You need the number for emergencies abroad. If you call this number from Switzerland, the call will be answered. However, it will take longer to alert the number 144.

Will costs be incurred?

• The service is free of charge for insured persons with KVG basic insurance and EGK-SUN supplementary insurance.
• The service is free of charge for insured persons with EGK-SUN insurance (even if they do not have KVG insurance with EGK).
• The service is free of charge for insured persons with EGK-SUN insurance (even if they do not have KVG insurance with EGK).

Please note:
Persons with EGK-TelCare insurance have to call the Medgate number in Switzerland: 0800 800 735.

For many Swiss citizens, the health insurance premium is a big budget item. Especially small-income households can be placed under a lot of stress. Therefore, it is worth checking to see if you are eligible for a premium reduction. If you have any questions, please contact the cantonal office responsible for you.

You receive certain benefits from the supplementary insurance that are not covered or only partially covered by basic insurance. In contrast to compulsory basic insurance, the insurance company is not obligated to accept the applicant for supplementary insurance. After the medical examination, the insurance company decides on the acceptance or rejection of the application.

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In accordance with Article 4b of the Health Care Benefits Ordinance (KLV), basic insurance covers five complementary medical treatment methods, provided they are performed by a doctor with the appropriate additional training. These are the following treatments: acupuncture, anthroposophic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, classic homeopathy and phytotherapy. The doctor can provide information about whether he/she is billing under KVG. Once a natural health practitioner or therapist performs one of these treatments or other alternative treatments, additional insurance is required. The prerequisite is that the natural health practitioner or the therapist is recognised by EGK. For information, contact the SNE Therapy Office at: 032 623 64 80 or by email at info@fondation-sne.ch. info@fondation-sne.ch.

Deadlines and dates

• Compulsory basic insurance: Insurance changes or notices of termination must be received by the latest on the last working day in November, i.e up to 29 November, 2019.
• Supplementary insurance: Supplementary insurance can be changed or terminated in accordance with the contractual provisions. The respective terms and conditions of insurance can be found here. For premium adjustments, notice of termination must also be received by 29 November, 2019. This also applies to collective agreements, in which the information obligation lies with the collective partner.

If you pay your premium with an annual invoice, we grant you a 1% discount. With a semi-annual invoice, you benefit from a 0.5 percent discount. In order for the conversion of the payment cycle to take effect in January, notification by 29 November, 2019 is essential.

All inforamtions can be found here.

Health insurance premiums are deducted indirectly via a flat-rate deduction for insurance premiums. However, not the entire amount - this is regulated by cantonal law. But not only a part of the premiums can be deducted from the income, also the actual medical expenses. Please read the regulations in the guide to the tax return.

The insurance card is used to provide proof of KVG cover to health care providers (for example, pharmacies, hospitals, doctors, etc.) and entitles you, in an emergency, to receive health care in Europe. This guarantees that you will be treated in accordance with the rules and tariffs of social insurance in your country of residence, in case of illness and accident abroad.

The statutory regulated front side of the card contains administrative information such as surname, first name, gender and date of birth of the insured person, as well as the surname and BAG number of the health insurer. It also includes a 20-digit insurance card number (VeKa number in accordance with EU standard), as well as the 13-digit AHV number. On the front side of the card, the insured party's contact details and the emergency telephone number of the health insurer for home and abroad are indicated.

On the reverse side of the card is the European health insurance card for use in other European countries (blue reverse side) for compulsory health insurance.

This information is also stored on the microprocessor and can be read with a chip card reader.

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The insured person must notify the EGK agency if the insurance card is lost. EGK agents will order a new insurance card. On issuing a new insurance card, a new insurance card number will be generated, making the old insurance card no longer valid. For more information, please contact the relevant agency.

Anyone drawing up a living will must ensure that the relevant people are notified in case of emergency. In addition to medical data, insured persons can have the fact that they have drawn up a living will registered on the insurance card – together with the storage location. Note: The health insurance company has no access to this data.

So that your child is optimally insured at birth, it is advisable to take out supplementary insurance with hospital cover for the whole of Switzerland. Find out more about other advantages here.