Glasses & contact lenses: costs covered by Sanitas

Do you need new glasses because your vision has deteriorated? Or do you do a lot of sport and would sometimes like to wear contact lenses? Your health insurance may cover part of the costs.

What costs are covered by basic insurance?

Children up to age 18: Up to CHF 180 per year for spectacle lenses or contact lenses. You must submit an ophthalmic prescription for costs to be reimbursed.

Adults: In 2011, the Federal Council amended the law on health insurance and cut contributions to vision aids for adults under basic insurance. Exception: Basic insurance pays CHF 180 per eye per year if the visual impairment is due to medical reasons, such as diabetes or after eye surgery.

What costs are covered by supplementary insurance?

The costs of vision aids for adults are partially reimbursed under our supplementary insurance plans. A higher cost share may be paid for children’s glasses or contact lenses for children.

  • Vital Basic: Up to CHF 300 every three years
  • Vital Smart: Up to CHF 300 every three years
  • Vital Premium: Up to CHF 600 every three years

Good to know

You don’t need an ophthalmic prescription for costs to be covered.

The supplementary insurance plans also cover part of the costs of frames.

Additional products, such as contact lens solution or lens cases, are not covered.

Eye tests performed by opticians are not covered.

Benefits that you do not claim in a year (children) or every three years (adults) cannot be transferred to the following year.