Your questions

Here are the main ways to reduce your premiums:

• Increase your annual deductible for basic insurance: This automatically lowers your monthly premiums and you save up to CHF 1,540 a year. Watch the video to find out exactly what the deductible and copayment are.
  
• Choose an alternative insurance model (AIM) for an attractive discount. Sanitas offers a range of alternative insurance models for basic insurance. You will find an overview here.

Find more money-saving tips here. Do you have any questions? Or would you like us to help you optimise your insurance solution? Then book a personal consultation in just a few clicks or contact your service centre directly – you can find the contact details on your policy document. We’ll be glad to help.

Switzerland has one of the best healthcare systems in the world. This first-class care comes at a cost, which is reflected in the health insurance premiums. This is because premiums are based on the cost of claims of all our customers. As a result, your premium might go up even though you’ve hardly ever needed to see a doctor or go to hospital, and you haven’t required any medication or treatment. However, it’s worth bearing in mind that you will be protected against high costs under basic insurance if you happen to fall ill at some time in the future and need medical care. This principle of solidarity is an integral part of the Swiss health insurance act. There are many other factors that drive up healthcare costs in general – and therefore also the premiums:

• Advances in medicine and technology (e.g. new, expensive gene therapies to treat cancer)
• The increasing proportion of older people in the population and their need for medical care
• Increase in the number of chronically ill people
• Expansion of benefits covered by basic insurance (e.g. non-medical psychotherapy)

The following video explains the key facts clearly and concisely:

The average values for basic insurance communicated in the media rarely have a bearing on your individual premium. One reason for this is that insurance companies have to calculate premiums independently of each other. This is prescribed by law and monitored by the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).

The FOPH requires that premiums cover the costs in each canton. That is why premiums primarily reflect a health insurer’s cost of claims, which is the costs they pay out for doctors, therapists, hospital stays and medication. The cost of claims can vary considerably as it depends on a number of factors, including the structure of a health insurer’s customer base and the insureds’ place of residence. That’s why the premium of 44-year-old Mr M. living in canton X differs from the premium of 44-year-old Mr B. living in canton Y. Healthcare costs tend to be higher in urban areas than in the countryside and higher in French-speaking Switzerland than in German-speaking Switzerland. It’s well known that supply drives demand: the more doctors, hospitals and therapists there are offering services in a region, the higher the healthcare costs will be.

Good to know: The details published by the FOPH refer only to the premium for basic insurance. When comparing this figure with your policy, remember that it applies only to your basic insurance premium and not the premium for supplementary insurance.

The Swiss healthcare system attaches great importance to the concept of solidarity for basic insurance. This means all adults in a single premium region pay the same premium for basic insurance regardless of whether they are sick or healthy, old or young, male or female. You’re one of the lucky ones who are in good health. However, it’s worth bearing in mind that you won’t have to pay a higher premium if you happen to fall ill at some time in the future. This principle of solidarity is an integral part of the Swiss health insurance act. It gives you the security that you won’t face financial difficulties as a result of illness-related costs in the event of an emergency. 

Our advertising primarily informs people about innovative products and services, helping Sanitas attract new customers. Winning new customers each year is a crucial factor in maintaining the stability and security of a health insurance company. Ultimately, this benefits all Sanitas customers.

Advertising can also play an important role in encouraging our customers to save costs: Since the launch of our Sanitas Portal and associated communication measures, over 330,000 customers have switched to electronic – and therefore paper-free – correspondence with Sanitas. And finally, our figures show that foregoing advertising has a negligible impact on costs, because Sanitas’ advertising expenditure makes up only a fraction of a monthly premium at less than CHF 1 per month. In other words, cutting the entire advertising budget would have a negligible effect on premiums.

Did you know that , for every CHF 100 you pay in premiums, around CHF 95 are invested directly in medical services, i.e. hospital stays, therapies, lab expenses and medicines?

Sanitas works on a daily basis to keep the growth of healthcare costs as moderate as possible.

• We process up to 750,000 bills each month, checking for unjustifiably high charges and services that are not covered. This helps prevent unnecessary costs.
• We follow up on leads from our customers who alert us to questionable invoices, which allows us to save on further costs.
• We regularly negotiate tariffs with healthcare providers such as hospitals.
• Our case management services are designed to support and advise customers experiencing difficult health situations. Effective coordination between doctors, therapists and other involved parties plays a crucial role in optimising the recovery process.
• Working together with our independent partner Medgate, we offer free medical advice around the clock. This service helps you avoid expensive emergency costs, especially at night or at weekends, giving you peace of mind and allowing you to postpone a visit to the doctor until the regular practice hours.
• It has been proven that alternative insurance models help reduce costs. Sanitas offers various alternative insurance models (AIM) for basic insurance.

In an effort to reduce environmental pollution for the sake of our health and the climate, the Swiss federal government implemented environmental levies on pollutants in 2008. The Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) is responsible for distributing the levies to the public, which it does via the health insurers. In 2027, you will receive a refund of CHF 57 from the proceeds of environmental levies (CO₂ and VOC levies). Each month, CHF 4.75 will be offset against your premium. This amount is shown on your policy and on your premium invoices.

You will also receive the official information sheet from the FOEN with your policy.

This video published by the FOEN provides further information.

Health insurers are legally obliged to build up reserves. While some insurers pay out any excess to their customers with basic insurance, Sanitas − like the majority of health insurers − prefers to focus on offering its customers premiums that are as stable as possible in the long term. What’s more, the costs of the complex administration process involved in refunding premiums are ultimately borne by the customers. The possibility of a premium refund is reviewed annually as part of the premium earnings process.

Your chosen basic insurance model dictates who you have to contact first with health-related queries. Here’s an overview:

• Free Choice of Doctor: Unlimited free choice of doctor before each treatment
• Family Doctor: Your family doctor or group practice is the first point of contact for medical advice
• TelMed Basic: Initial telemedicine consultation with mandatory coordination of the treatment process
• TelMed Plus: Initial consultation via telemedicine or in one of our partner pharmacies – with a flexible choice of doctor for any follow-up treatment
• MultiAccess: Contact your family doctor or group practice, telemedicine centre or a partner pharmacy first for medical advice

In the Family Doctor basic insurance model, Sanitas offers four different discount options. Sanitas wants its customers to be able to participate more transparently in the cost savings generated by the different networks of physicians. You benefit from different discounts depending on the family doctor or group practice you choose. The handy doctor locator shows you quickly and easily which discount variant your medical contact is assigned to.