Switzerland: Swiss Health Insurance Obligation In Connection With An Employee Assignment

Compulsory health insurance is always a much-discussed topic for employee assignments.

Depending on the country of assignment, this is also associated with additional costs, such as international health insurance, which are usually covered by the employer.

Employment in Switzerland - Moving to Switzerland

In Switzerland, compulsory health insurance is based on taking up residence in Switzerland. This means that as soon as you have registered in Switzerland after moving here from abroad, you are generally required to have health insurance in Switzerland. However, it should be noted that there are some exceptions to this. These exceptions apply, for example, to posted workers from abroad who remain subject to social insurance in their home country and have equivalent health insurance coverage, and at the same time, Switzerland has concluded a social insurance agreement with this country. The same also applies in part to cross-border commuters.

In Switzerland, every natural person is responsible for taking out health insurance. The employer is not involved in this.

A person moving to Switzerland for the first time generally has the first three months to take out local Swiss health insurance or, if this is possible, to exempt themselves from such health insurance. This also applies to any existing family members who have also newly registered in Switzerland. If neither of these steps is taken within three months of moving to Switzerland, the relevant control authorities (these are different authorities depending on the canton) will automatically assign the person to a statutory Swiss health insurance scheme specified by the authorities. The newly arrived person or persons will then be insured under this health insurance scheme at least until the next possible cancellation date and the premiums must be paid accordingly.

If an exemption from health insurance should have been granted due to a posting, this can still be done after the three months have expired, but the "compulsory allocation" of health insurance must then also be canceled.

For exemption from compulsory health insurance in the case of a posting to Switzerland, a corresponding application form must be completed and the so-called posting certificate (Form A1 / Certificate of Coverage), the health insurance card from abroad, and, in some cases, the international health insurance policy must be submitted.

International health insurance is particularly recommended if the health insurance from the home country will not cover all costs in the country of assignment.

Leaving Switzerland - deployment abroad

Health insurance is also an important aspect of a posting from Switzerland to another country, and it is essential to take this into account in your preparations.

For example, a person who is to be posted abroad from Switzerland and who is to remain subject to social insurance in Switzerland during the assignment abroad, based on an existing social insurance agreement, must continue to have health insurance in Switzerland. This is also necessary if this person deregisters in Switzerland for the assignment abroad.

If the Swiss health insurance is not continued or is canceled during the assignment, the social insurance coverage in Switzerland also ends currently. It is therefore essential that the expatriate is aware of this, as it can have far-reaching consequences, which should be clarified as comprehensively as possible in advance.

The basic insurance provided by Swiss health insurance companies already offers good coverage abroad, but you should still take out additional international health insurance coverage depending on the country of assignment (including the USA). It is important to note that, as a rule, Swiss health insurance companies will only cover a maximum of twice the costs of treatment abroad that would have been incurred in Switzerland. Depending on the situation and country, this can therefore lead to high costs and incalculable risks without international health insurance, which should be avoided.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.