1) you can sign up for healt care on day 1, www.comparis.com

2) she is unlikely to be accepted for the supplementary insurance as already pregnant Without an extra payment. Usually you sign up a year before you plan pregnancy. You may simply want to pay for the room in the hospital. Alternatively, if your company has an extra health care offer like Cigna or BUPA, that could pay for the private facility.

3) many of our friends delivered their babies at HUG maternite. The only downside was the room sharing. The medical care is excellent. Way better than NHS...

Just to clarify on your health care obligations as opposed to your wish list, in actual fact you will be covered from the first day you arrive here whetheer you like it or not:  even if you were to apply for the insurance later, it will be backdated to the day you arrive.  I seem to remember you have a few months to proive to your commune that you have insurance in place but your ticking baby will mean such deadlines are irrelevant....So frankly given your position I would apply as soon as possible.  I guess your problem is going to be that your insurance premium will be based upon where you live and so you need to sort out an address here as soon as possible to determine that.  *That* may be the tricker bit but its easier than it used to be...

And ask for all the supplemental insurances that you want on day one, don't try bumping them up later in advance of the birth.  I dont think you could possibly be penalised for arriving in a new country and asking for that.  This is the land of insurance!

Hello,

Yes you will be covered from the first day, although you have officially 3 months to sort out your health insurance, and most of the time (but not always) if you wait until nearer the end of that 3 months, you will have to pay back from day 1.  As for the baby there is one insurance company which takes you if you are already pregnant. You also normally have to sign up for 12 months prior for the complementary insurance, but only for semi-private room in the hospital... PM me if you would like further info as I can do all this for you no problem (I work in insurance).

Otherwise Geneva is a really nice city - you'll love it here :-)

Have a  nice day!

Thanks, George! I have DMed.

Reka is totally right, i delivered 2 babies in HUG and the only bad part was sharing the room, which sometimes I didn't have to share with anyone (but this was like 1-2d out of 4). 

Welcome to Suisse!

Thank you, apacat! 

Do you know of a rough estimation to pay out-of-pocket for a semi-private room after birth? Either at HUG maternity or either at a different hospital/clinic? Or how should I search? I`m just trying to work out scenarios.

Thank you, Dan!

Before I gave birth, a year ago, I asked the midwife how much would it cost a private room. She said she wasnt sure but it could cost from 200-300 per day. i can ask a friend of mine who just gave birth. I will see if she could take a look.

That would be great, if would be able to ask! Much obliged!

Wow!  Are you sitting down? Shhe just told me. For her first kid, who tried a natural birth before an emergency c-section, she had to pay around 20 000 chf ( for the birth plus hospita stay)l for her and 2000 for the baby, for 6 nights in the hospital. She also mentioned she would go for a provate room anymore. Now at the birth of her second baby, although she booked in advance the private room, on the second day the hospital staff informed her that she should allow someone else to be installed in her room, because the hospital was full. Amazing no? She ended up leaving earlier because of this. 

Or alternatively, you could always try this.................

http://www.expatica.com/fr/healthcare/Having-a-baby-in-France_107664.html

remember, Geneva is right on the border and if your permit allows, you could live amongst us! We have the best of both worlds.

wow! that is insane! so the 20,000 + 2000 CHF costs ... were those for a private room? Not in the HUG, right?

Also, if you just want to give birth (natural) at HUG and then you have complications and have c-section, would these costs be covered by the basic health insurance? (ignoring semi-private, private rooms etc.)

Thanks, Sheila! Will check it out. So much info to absorb! :) 

This price is for the private room in HUG. The case you asked is what happne to me with my first and it was fully covered (no private though). 

One more, please :) 

Is there any realistic chance to push/choose for a C-section birth covered by basic insurance? Or, if you specifically want that (with, let's say, no real medical reason other..), you will have to pay the birth? 

Sure, no problem. As as many questions as you would like. Is this your first Baby? Believe me, c-sections are not a good thing, although many say it is "good", fast and reliable (i have friends who swear by it). I had two and i hated both of them. The first was an emergency as the baby wasnt passing and the second i could choose again to try the natural birth and then if necessary go to a csection or go directly for it. I chose the second, but i could choose only because inalready had history of problems. So answering to your question: no, for the first kid, and for no medical reason, you cannot choose at HUG, unless you go for the private doc and you give birth at his clinic. I always saw the ladies in my room who had normal birth and they were always walking up and down with their babies and i was or tied to the pee catheter (on the first 24h) or dying of pain (on the first 4-5d) to walk around. Even if sometimes it is flawed, natura birth is been around for the last 30000 years for a reason, even if the thought of it is frightening :-)

Hi everybody,

We finally moved to Geneva for 2 weeks and we have fewer questions than we had before, but we're still in the process of understanding how things really work here.

Thanks to anyone for all the support sofar.

We have managed to find a semi-private insurance for myself through Groupe Mutuel. We understand that this type of insurance will allow us to choose the doctor and also to have a semi private room during the labor.

My questions are the following :

1. do you have any recommendation for a gyneco that will also be able to assist us during the labor? (I am not able to find any reviews  on the web and have only received  some names - Rinaldi, Antonelli, Sandrine Jacob, Pierre Stuckelberger..).  I have received some negative feedback about some doctors inducing the birth at a certain date, as they were not available at your expectancy date.

2. how should I choose where to give birth ( I have no idea if I should go to HUG or select a private clinic like Grangette - as I understand that I have the possibility to choose the hospital/clinic with the semi-private insurance). If you guys can share some of your experiences as I am not sure if I should go to a public hospital or better opt for a private.

3. In case I will find a doctor that is not part of the HUG team, will he/her be able to come and assist during labor at HUG? 

4. I understand that the natural birth is encouraged in here, but in case of any risky conditions, will they still inssist of giving birth naturally? (I've heard that some times they are waiting till the very last moment to take the decision of switching from natural to C section)

5. In case one's  having additional health issues that might put pregnancy at risk will the expenses with additional tests be covered through insurance?

I know that some of the questions are very specific, but I will really appreciate some guidance as I am a bit lost.

Thank you all,

Alexandra and Dan

Hi

I just gave birth here 5 months ago. I can try to answer some of your questions but think it's easier over the phone! Feel free to DM me and I can  give you my number where I'll happily answer questions.

The system is very different here it's true...I also came from London before so was a mind field to navigate.

Emi

Thanks for your reply, Emi.

I have sent you a friend request and message in private.

Cheers,

Andra

Hi!

If you don't mind, I'd love to just ask how was your experience sharing a room after birth: did you get to sleep or was it too loud with another lady+baby in there?

I had a private room to myself at Les grangettes  but I know a few girls who had the shared room at the HUG. I think depending on who is in the room it can be very hectic and hard to sleep with many people coming and going. Les grangettes is all private rooms. Beaulieu you may have to share with one other on the semi private insurance. 

If you have semi private or private insurance you can get a room in the private ward at the HUG.

Hi Andra,

I gave birth 11 months ago at Clinique Beaulieu (private clinic) and had a wonderful experience there. My OBGYN throughout pregnancy and for the birth (planned C-Section as the baby was breech) was Eric Antonelli and he was awesome, I will definitely go with him again for my 2nd (one day, not now hehe). No problems with the C-section either, I could walk the next day and recovered very fast, although I guess it's different when you have an emergency c-section after hours of labour. I have private insurance through an international organization so I can't answer your questions regarding these issues, but feel free to DM me if you have questions about Clinique Beaulieu and/or Antonelli!

Justine

Thanks!

Thank you all  for your responsiveness. I feel much stronger in terms of knowledge related to how the health system is working in CH, but there is a long way to be able to provide guidance myself, as first I need to experience this journey.

Meanwhile, I had my first gyneco appointment. (Dr. Jacob Sandrine) and visited Grangette maternity. I will also book some visits at HUG and Beaulieu, to take a decision and choose  where to give birth. We have managed to obtain a semi-private insurance through my husband's company, so I am able to opt for a private clinique as well. 

Not sure what's the best option, I guess everyone has a different experience and in most of the cases  the experience is good no matter where you give birth. (from what I read/heard).

What I have found out is that no matter what private clinique you choose, in case of a complicated labour, you will be sent to HUG anyway. Also, I understand that the % of C section is pretty high at HUG and also in private cliniques, even though, in general, they encourage the natural birth. I am curious how much patience do they have during labour and if they respect your birth plan. I was told that the doctor can't confirm the presence  during the labour as they can't have a perfect sync  with the patient's schedule.  This being said, they will have a replacement person during labour. 

Cheers,

Alex