Basic insurance pays for childrens‘ glasses again
Jonas Grossniklaus,
Editor of comparis.ch
22 June 2012 - Health insurance
Good news for families: if a child needs glasses or contact lenses, health insurance has to take a share of the costs from 1st July 2012. Federal councillor Alain Berset, who is head of the Federal Office of Public Health, mandated this by decree.
Health insurance has to pay CHF 180 per year towards glasses and contact lenses. In order to be able to account for the costs with the insurance, an annual prescription from an eye doctor is necessary. Policyholders can benefit from the absorption of costs until 18 years of age.
With the newest change by decree, Berset revises a decision made by his predecessor. Since 1st Januar 2011, compulsory health insurance no longer covered glasses and contact lenses. The basis for the renunciation of this decision is a medical evaluation which came to the conclusion that the correction of children’s defective vision is equivalent to the treatment of an illness. Most eye defects have to be treated during childhood in order to avoid further decline of eye-sight.
If adults want their health insurance to cover a part of the costs for glasses and contact lenses, they continue to need supplementary insurance.
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