Swiss health insurance: what is the Franchise?
The Franchise is the amount you pay yourself each year before your health insurance pays. Adults choose between CHF 300 and CHF 2,500, and a higher Franchise means a lower premium. After the Franchise, you pay 10 percent of further costs, the Selbstbehalt, at most CHF 700 a year.
Ep. 38 · Ueli's Word · 57 seconds. Watch
The real rule
Why the Swiss laugh, and what it means if you're new here.
In Swiss health insurance, you share the costs: first the Franchise, then the Selbstbehalt. Choosing a higher Franchise is the usual way to lower the premium, and the price is that you pay more yourself first when you need care. As a newcomer, pick a Franchise you could pay tomorrow, not one that only looks good on the premium letter.
Blüemli's verdict: Ding. You choose. Adults: CHF 300 to 2,500. Then 10%, at most CHF 700 a year.
SELBSTBEHALT: literally: “self-keep”; really: 10% more, after the Franchise Ueli's Word
Be like Ueli. Pick the Franchise you could pay tomorrow.
Learn more: Swiss health insurance for expats
The rule, explained
The Federal Office of Public Health, FOPH, explains the cost share in its answers on premiums and costs. Adults can choose a Franchise between CHF 300, the ordinary Franchise, and CHF 2,500. Once the Franchise is paid, you pay 10 percent of further costs yourself, the Selbstbehalt, up to a maximum of CHF 700 a year. The FOPH names the trade-off plainly: a higher Franchise means lower premiums, but when you need care, you first pay more out of your own pocket. That is the whole trick in Ueli's envelope: the higher Franchise only works if the money is there when the bill comes.
Sources: FOPH (BAG), Prämien und Kosten: Antworten auf häufige Fragen; FOPH (BAG), Kostenbeteiligung
Questions people ask
What Franchise can adults choose in Switzerland?
From CHF 300, the ordinary Franchise, up to CHF 2,500. A higher Franchise means lower premiums (FOPH).
What is the Selbstbehalt in Swiss health insurance?
After the Franchise, you pay 10 percent of further costs, at most CHF 700 a year for adults (FOPH).
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