Family doctor Swiss health insurance - does the doctor need to live in my canton?

We currently live in the canton of Zug and have a very decent doctor here which we trust and feel comfortable with after several years of working with her. We will soon be moving to a nearby town across the "border" in Luzern because we want a bigger place.

We use family doctor health insurance policies, but I am not sure if we can continue to use our preferred doctor after we move to another canton. Does anyone have experience with this? Can you give me any advice? We would like to stick with our longstanding doctor if possible.

Greetings,

As a general rule, you are not obligated to change your family doctor when you relocate. However, there are a number of things which could affect whether or not you can continue using your current doctor:

1. Does your insurer offer the family doctor model in your new location? Insurance companies are under no obligation to provide managed care insurance policies countrywide, and certain policies may only be available in certain regions.

2. Does your policy limit you to doctors within your region? Terms and conditions vary between policies and Swiss insurance companies are free to make their own rules in this regard. Go over your policy and contact your insurer if you are still unsure.

If you are moving far away from your family doctor, it may be in your best interest to change doctors for the sake of convenience.

Best regards from Moneyguru

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Family doctor insurance model explained