Health Insurance for Alternative Medicine in Switzerland

Health insurance companies typically draw a clear line between conventional medicine and alternative medicine. Alternative and complementary treatments are often considered to be inferior or unnecessary.

However, Swiss mandatory health insurance does include some coverage for alternative medicine and therapies. Additionally, there are supplementary health insurance offers that cover a broad range of complementary therapies and alternative medicine. 

Does Swiss mandatory health insurance cover alternative medicine?

The following alternative treatments are covered by mandatory health insurance: 

• Acupuncture
• Anthroposophic medicine
• Classical homeopathy
• Medicinal therapies from Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)
• Phytotherapy (herbal medicine)

However, these alternative medical treatments are only covered by your basic compulsory health insurance if they are medically prescribed and carried out by medical doctors (Dr. med.) with an additional specialization for the therapy in question. Treatments performed by other therapists are not covered. Additionally, your health insurance deductible and coinsurance payment apply.

Do I need supplementary health insurance for alternative medicine?

That depends on your specific needs and which therapies you want to use. Unlike mandatory health insurance, most supplemental health insurance offers also cover treatments performed by certified therapists, in addition to medical doctors. The coverage for alternative treatments in supplemental health insurance offers generally covers numerous complementary treatments that are not covered by mandatory health insurance.

The coverage provided by supplemental health insurance policies is not legislated by the government. Each health insurance provider has its own list of alternative treatments, medicines, doctors and therapists which are covered by their policies. However, most health insurance providers base their supplementary coverage on a list of certified therapists known as the ErfahrungsMedizinischen Register (EMR) in German and as the Registre de Médicine Empirique (RME) in French.

Before opting for alternative therapy, contact your health insurance provider and have them confirm whether or not the treatment is covered by your policy. If you are looking for an offer that covers a specific practice or treatment, consider asking the alternative medicine practitioner. Many practitioners will be able to provide you with a list of supplementary health insurance policies which cover their practice.

Table 1 shows which offers from major Swiss health insurance companies cover different therapies. However, the exact coverage varies between individual offers. Here are the main additional points to consider:

• Most supplementary health insurance policies only cover part of the cost of alternative treatments. There are major differences in the coverage provided by different supplementary health insurance policies. Some cover just 75 percent of the costs of alternative treatments, while others cover 90 percent of costs. Some offers also have an insurance deductible.

• Most offers only cover therapies up to a certain limit (1500 or 5000 francs per year, for example). A few provide unlimited coverage – minus possible deductibles and coinsurance payments. Some supplemental health insurance policies limit the number of individual treatment sessions covered across a course of treatment.

• The coverage provided can vary broadly from one supplementary health insurance offer to another. Coverage for alternative treatments is often bundled with other supplementary health insurance coverages. Comparing offers as a whole is recommended.

• It is important to account for the cost of insurance when calculating whether an insurance offer can save you money. You can easily compare the cost of different offers using the interactive supplementary health insurance comparison on moneyland.ch.

The supplementary health insurance comparison provides detailed breakdowns of alternative medicine coverage for each offer. The alternative medicine filter and sort options let you list and sort policies based on the alternative medicine coverage they provide.

Table 1: Alternative medicine coverage from major Swiss health insurance providers

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