Hi there,
Some Swiss health insurance providers do place a limit on out of pocket payments for multiple hospital insurance policies held by members of the same household. Depending on the type of hospital insurance you have (semi-private ward or private ward), and on whether more than one of you ends up claiming on your hospital insurance in the same year, these limits can potentially save couples and families a lot of money.
The Libero hospital insurance policy from Concordia limits combined coinsurance payments (20% for semi-private ward and 35% for private ward) for multiple policyholders in the same household to 4000 Swiss francs per year. An individual would pay a maximum 2000 francs per year (semi-private ward) or 4000 francs per year (private ward). So the maximum combined out of pocket costs for a family are equal to those of an individual with private ward insurance.
The flex hospital insurance from the Krankenkasse und Unfallkasse Einsiedeln limits combined coinsurance (15% for semi-private ward and 25% for private ward insurance) for multiple policyholders in the same household to a maximum of 4500 francs. That is equal to the maximum of 4500 francs per year which applies to a single, private ward policyholder. However, it is 3 times higher than the maximum coinsurance of 1500 francs per year which applies to semi-private ward insurance. Flex hospital insurance policies let you choose between general, semi-private and private wards when you book yourself into hospitals.
Check with your insurance provider as to whether they use similar family-friendly limits for hospital insurance out of pocket costs. If not, it may be worth it to take out hospital insurance from another insurance provider which does. Carefully compare premiums (using the moneyland.ch hospital insurance comparison, for example). In some cases, it may be worth paying higher premiums in order to benefit from lower out of pocket costs.
Best regards from Moneyguru
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