I also believe it's a wise choice. It's not only health insurance premiums at stake when being a frontalier:

- With a G permit, you just are a foreigner living in a foreign country. With the mass immigration initiative, you will soon (2017) be subject to quotas again if you lose / change your job. On the other (border) side, a B permit gets converted into a C permit after 5 years and then you are a permanent resident with virtually same rights as a swiss cititzen (unless you leave the country, of course)

- Social reputation of frontaliers is at its worst. They also get hired last and fired first by quite some geneva companies under the pressure of the geneva government

- Real estate prices in neighboring France are dropping sharply and will continue so. They also have fallen in Switzerland (GE, VD) so living in Switzerland has become again more affordable

- Your kids are not entitled to visit swiss schools if you work in Vaud. Obtaining exceptions for frontaliers in Geneva is getting harder and harder. French schools are overrun with >30 kids in one class and high turnaround of french state teachers as they can't live on their ~2000 EUR of salary (which is far less than what a frontalier Migros cashier earns)

- Swiss University access for children having acquired the french "baccalaureat" is getting harder. Since 2013, you need a 16/20 at EPFL (obtained by only 2-3% of the baccalaureat holders) - while you just need to pass the swiss Maturité (4/6).

- etc etc

Hi Kevin,

Great post!  I am new to the area and am finding the whole medical insurance situation very confusing.  My husband works in Geneva and we live in Divonne.  Some people say French, some Swiss; we had thought Swiss would suit us better.  Based on your research what would you suggest and could you summarise the changes that are coming in.

Many thanks for any information you can provide

I look forward to your reply!

Nicky Owen

Hi,

I'm in need of URGENT help and advice!!

I first came to switzerland 2013 and oviously had to get health insurance within 3 months.

Was advised to get Health Insurance with "Assura" and for me was SO expensive at 320+chf a month!!

I was new and not making much money as job is pure commission and living here is expensive so 3 months after having the insurance, decided to move to France, Ferney Voltaire.

Didn't even receive a single bill until around 6 months later or even to this day I have no policy documents!

So I try to cancel the policy around Jan 2014 verbally over the phone and again around March-April 2014 which took a VERY long time and was getting fed up as only ONE person spoke english and not very well might I add.

SO, after this talk thinkning YES, finally cancelled...months later I'm getting billed, so I ignore thinking I already cancelled this, so I ignore further then it suddenly stops.

May2015 comes and a letter from the ''offices des poursuites' demanding 5800chf!! Salary is now blocked!!

I call "Assura" find out what the hell is going on! and now they say, actually, I owe 12,800chf!!!!!!

What the HELL!!!

So, after me telling them I've moved to france months before, the insurance that I thought had cancelled was actually still running the whole time and then in Oct 2014 changed to a frontallier insurance (without me even knowing this!!) to which the bill per month is 730chf!!!! with the same company, Assura.

I was NEVER told about this and STILL no policy documents about the health insurance!!!

I couldn't pay the 3 months because of my circumstances hence why I moved to France for cheaper living.

When I moved to France, NO ONE told me I HAD to have health insurance.  I thought, when I was living in Switzerland, yeh, ok I have to have insurance but when I moved to France, I didn't need it anymore (that's wha I tried to cancel it) because it's part of the EU and I can still claim from NHS(EHIC card) if I ever needed but I usually fly back to the UK if I ever needed to see my doctor or dentist.

So now this whole thing has blown up and I don't know what to do?!?

I don't make enough money to pay for this and m partner is also living with me and still looking for a job.  I've been supporting us for several months and now this has happened.

The offices des poursuites have only given me a max of 2960chf per month, anything earned after that, they take to pay for what is owed.

I don't believe this is enought for the both of us.

PLEASE help!

I strongly believe I don't desserve to pay this huge bill...

What can I do??? What options/actions can I take?

I can't really afford a lawyer and fight this case either...

I feel I am forced to quit my job and flee back to the UK and not pay it.

That, I don't want to do.

Any advice..??

Go to the "permanence juridique" in Geneva: http://permanence-juridique-geneve.ch

They are cheap. I'm pretty sure they will be able to at least explain you how to contest the whole thing at the "office des poursuites".

Whatever you do, always do it by sending a "recommandé" in order to have a proof of what you actually did (this could have saved you a lot of troubles).

Act as quickly as possible regarding the "office des poursuites" as you don't have a unlimited time to contest de decision.

This is absolutly unacceptable and I think it's a shame you can't afford a lawyer. There are a lot of things that appears really strange which makes me think a judge could simply consider the contract null and void (the fact that you had not acces to the policy but most of all the fact that they changed your contract without letting you know).

If it's not the first time I hear bad stories about health insurances in Switzerland, this is the first time I hear something that shocking.

That being said, I would hope too much about the the amount before they changed the contract for a "frontalier" one. You have a legal obligation to be insured as long as you live in Switzerland and they simply can't let you go without you giving them a proof that you're leaving the country. This makes the whole "frontalier" insurance even stranger since not only they are not supposed to change it whithout the proper papers which mean they should have let you with the first one which is the "LAMAL" one, but they are definitly not supposed to give you another policy (apparently not LAMAL) without letting you know or having you signing anything, especially since (unless I'm mistaking) you could have choosen the french insurance system.

Anyway, I wish you good luck.