In Switzerland, the difference lies in the accommodation and the doctors who will take care of you.

On a general ward, you will stay in a room with several beds (between two and eight), depending on availability. You cannot choose your medical practitioners (surgeon, obstetrician, etc.). In the case of public hospitals, the CHIS reimburses 100% of the costs associated with a stay on a general ward.

No. Not all benefits are reimbursed in accordance with the general rule described under the previous question. To check whether the rule applies, please consult the list of benefits that you will find on the site. There you will see that, if you opt for a private hospital that is not approved by the CHIS, your reimbursement will be limited to 80% of your expenditure and the amount at your expense will be unlimited since the general rule does not apply. You may therefore be required to pay large sums of money out of your own pocket.

This depends on when you joined the CHIS, as the annual ceilings are reduced prorata temporis according to your length of membership. The table below explains the ceilings that apply to dental treatment if you joined the CHIS on 1 September of a given year and have a three-year contract ending on 31 August:

Am I entitled to the 9 900 CHF ceiling for dental treatment in my first year of CHIS membership?

No. The carry-forward principle is based on an annual expenditure ceiling of 3 300 CHF. Any unused portion of this ceiling can be carried forward to the following year(s) until a maximum cumulated ceiling is reached after three calendar years. This means that the CHF 9 900 expenditure ceiling will apply only in the third year and only if you have not claimed for dental treatment in the previous two years.

I sent you an invoice for dental treatment amounting to 5 000 CHF but was reimbursed only 2720 CHF, even though the annual ceiling shown in the list of benefits is 3300 CHF. Is this a mistake?

Acupuncture is part of the alternative therapies recognised by the CHIS as well as Chinese medicine, chiropractic medicine, osteopathy and etiopathy; provided that it is dispensed by healthcare provider recognised for this specific treatment.

In order to be recognised by the CHIS, the healthcare provider used by the Members must be recognised, qualified and licensed to practice medicine and/or to provide the healthcare or medical treatment concerned by the competent national authorities of the country where they operate. 

You need a prior approval by the Third-Party Administrator for:

Yes. Acts performed by medical auxiliaries: nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists, speech therapists, etc., must be performed in accordance with a medical prescription.

However, acts performed by osteopaths, etiopathy therapists and chiropractors may be reimbursed without a medical prescription, up to a maximum of five sessions per calendar year.