Health insurance premium regions: what are they?
The premium region for health insurance is a key factor in determining the amount of your health insurance premium. Comparis explains what premium regions are.
22.09.2025
iStock/Michael Derrer Fuchs
1. What are premium regions in health insurance?
Premium regions are regional levels of health insurance premiums in certain cantons. They exist because there are sometimes significant local differences in healthcare costs. Based on these regions, health insurers are able to adjust the premiums to these costs.
2. How many premium regions are there in each canton?
There are a maximum of three premium regions per canton. In addition, there is a cap on the permissible differences in premiums between the regions.
Example of premium differences
In 2025, the average basic insurance premium for adults with a deductible of 300 francs in the city of Zurich is 573.40 francs per month. In Winterthur, people with the same insurance pay an average of only 514.80 francs. That’s because Zurich is located in premium region 1 (the most expensive), and Winterthur in premium region 2 (the cheapest).
FOPH premium regions: how many are there per canton and what is the maximum premium discount?
The table below shows the number of health insurance premium regions per canton. It also gives an overview of the maximum premium discount for each region.
| Canton | Regions | Maximum discount |
|---|---|---|
| Aargau | One region | – |
| Appenzell-Innerrhoden | One region | – |
| Appenzell-Ausserrhoden | One region | – |
| Bern | Three regions | Region 2: 15% Region 3: 10% |
| Basel-Landschaft | Two regions | 15% |
| Basel-Stadt | One region | – |
| Fribourg | Two regions | 10% |
| Geneva | One region | – |
| Glarus | One region | – |
| Graubünden | Three regions | Region 2: 15% Region 3: 10% |
| Jura | One region | – |
| Lucerne | Three regions | Region 2: 15% Region 3: 10% |
| Neuchâtel | One region | – |
| Nidwalden | One region | – |
| Obwalden | One region | – |
| St. Gallen | Three regions | Region 2: 15% Region 3: 10% |
| Schaffhausen | Two regions | 15% |
| Solothurn | One region | – |
| Schwyz | One region | – |
| Thurgau | One region | – |
| Ticino | Two regions | 15% |
| Uri | One region | – |
| Vaud | Two regions | 15% |
| Valais | Two regions | 15% |
| Zug | One region | – |
| Zurich | Three regions | Region 2: 15% Region 3: 10% |
Map of premium regions in Switzerland
The map gives you an overview of which premium region the communes in Switzerland belong to. Cantons with only one health insurance region are shown in the lightest green.
3. Who determines the premium regions?
The Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA) is responsible for defining the regions. The FDHA’s ordinance on premium regions specifies which commune is in which premium region.
The ordinance (Annex 2) also specifies the maximum permissible premium differences.
Good to know: the premium regions have remained largely unchanged since 2004. The FDHA only makes adjustments in the event that communes from different regions merge. However, cantons can propose changes (Art. 91b HIO) – such as reducing the number of regions from three to two, as was implemented in the canton of Vaud in 2009.
4. Frequently asked questions
There are three premium regions in the following cantons:
Bern
Graubünden
Lucerne
St. Gallen
Zurich
There are three premium regions in Zurich.
Health insurance premiums are highest in region 1, which only includes the city of Zurich.
Premiums are lowest in region 2, where a maximum discount of 15% applies.
In premium region 3, a maximum discount of 10% is applied compared to the premium in the city of Zurich.
You can see which region your commune belongs to in the overview provided by SVA Zurich.
There are three premium regions in the canton of Bern. Region 2 is the cheapest, with a maximum premium discount of 15%. In region 3, you pay up to 10% less than in region 1.
You can see which health insurance premium region applies in your commune in the calculation scheme document of the Canton of Bern (not available in English).
The canton of Lucerne has three premium regions. In region 2, you receive a maximum premium discount of 15%. In region 3, you pay up to 5% less than in region 1 (the most expensive).
You can see which health insurance region your commune belongs to in the document prepared by the Lucerne compensation office.
This article was first published on 11.07.2022
