You’d like to learn a language or simply experience new countries and cultures? Travel is very rewarding and broadens your horizons. We help you with everything you need to know regarding your health insurance.
Only 2% of young Swiss people have never left Switzerland. From the age of 12, more than a third have visited six or more countries. And every tenth Swiss citizen aged 12 and over has lived abroad for at least six months. These are the results of a survey conducted by the Swiss Federal Surveys of Adolescents.
Your basic insurance in Switzerland covers the cost of emergency medical treatment abroad. But when is an emergency an emergency? An emergency conjures up images of accidents and A&E. However, it's also possible that you are abroad and fall ill. Theoretically, you would have to be treated in Switzerland for basic insurance to cover the costs. However, a return trip to Switzerland just to go to the doctor would be excessive. So you go to a doctor near you. This is also classified as emergency treatment.
Costs covered within Europe
In countries within the
For example, if you go to a doctor in France, France has a copayment of 20% on costs for medical treatment in emergencies. This means we reimburse you 80% of the costs. You have to pay 20% of the costs yourself. You usually have to pay these costs directly while you’re there.
Costs covered outside Europe
If you’re staying in a country outside Europe, costs for medical treatment can vary greatly from those in Switzerland. Here, basic insurance reimburses up to twice the amount that would be covered in your canton of residence for the same treatment in Switzerland.
If you’re staying in a country with high treatment costs, such as Australia, Japan, Canada or the USA, you are advised to take out supplementary insurance.
Supplementary insurance covers higher treatment costs and additional benefits, such as the cost of medical transportation back to Switzerland or rescue transport abroad. Ideally, you should combine a supplementary outpatient insurance plan with a hospital plan:
Easy – low-cost supplementary insurance for travel
If you don’t have supplementary insurance cover already, we recommend that you take out the Easy supplementary insurance plan. It’s low-cost and covers the most important benefits for stays abroad.
Travel – for your trips abroad or for overseas visitors
If you aren’t able to take out any of these supplementary insurance plans due to the results of your medical exam, we recommend the Travel plan. It can be taken out on a weekly basis for up to a year.
Sanitas Assistance is included under all supplementary insurance plans. In case of medical emergencies abroad you can rely on rapid and straightforward support from Sanitas Assistance.
For example, Sanitas Assistance will organise
Important: For Sanitas to be able to cover the costs of treatment abroad, you must always contact Sanitas Assistance in an emergency.
Sanitas Assistance
If you plan to live abroad for longer, you can apply to suspend your health insurance. If you suspend your health insurance, you can reactivate it at a later date when you return to Switzerland without undergoing another medical exam.
Conditions:
Different conditions apply for suspending basic and supplementary insurance plans. If you’d like to suspend your health insurance, please get in touch. We’ll be glad to help.
Advice hotline
In many tropical regions and developing countries you may be exposed to sometimes incurable illnesses such as hepatitis B. There is a vaccination available against hepatitis B. Before you travel, make sure you know about any risks you may face and any measures you can take to protect yourself. As a Sanitas customer, you have access to advice from a Medgate doctor free of charge.
The easiest way is to use the Sanitas Medgate app:
You can enter all the primary vaccinations you’ve had so far in the digital vaccination pass. You can use the vaccine search to find out which illnesses you're protected against. And you can choose to receive reminders for pending vaccinations. The digital vaccination pass is part of the Sanitas Portal app.
If you’re planning on going abroad for longer, the best solution depends primarily on your destination. In some cases an international health insurance plan is best. And some countries require mandatory health insurance. Give us a call, we’ll be happy to advise you.
Advice hotline
