05 July 2010 - Health insurance, Travel
Many will be spending the coming summer vacations abroad. During preparations for the well-earned break, however, one thing is often forgotten: What happens if you suddenly fall ill or even have an accident while on vacation?
If you fall ill abroad, your health insurance will only pay for emergency treatment in hospital or a surgery. According to the Health Insurance Ordnance, an emergency is deemed to exist if “insured persons require medical treatment during a temporary period abroad and a return journey to Switzerland is not appropriate.” This definition leaves room for interpretation and is why you should contact your own health insurer immediately if you fall ill while abroad. This makes it possible to decide whether the situation is an emergency – both in medical and in insurance terms. As in Switzerland, the policyholder must pay the deductible and franchise themselves.
In an emergency abroad, the statutory basic insurance covers at most twice the costs that would have arisen for the same treatment in Switzerland. Anyone traveling to countries with high healthcare costs such as the USA, Japan, Canada or Australia must therefore look into taking out additional coverage. This can even be taken out just for the duration the journey.
In the event of an accident abroad, the accident insurance will cover the costs. Accident insurance is obligatory in Switzerland. Anyone working more than eight hours per week is insured by their employer while those who work less or not at all, must obtain accident cover from their health insurer.
Finally, do not forget to take you health-insurance card with you when traveling abroad. As a rule, this card also serves as your European health insurance card and entitles the cardholder to the same medical services within the EU and EFTA as enjoyed by insured persons in the respective country. The card also enables direct settlement of accounts with a health insurance company, meaning that the insured does not have to pay for treatment in cash or by credit card. The card normally indicates how you can contact the health insurance company in an emergency.
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