It depends on the insurer. The conditions vary quite a lot so check the details - once you sign you can only change to a new insurer at the end of the year.

Try compris.ch but I'd recommend going into the office of whichever one you are thinking to take before signing.

Since it seems that you are in Geneva because of your husband’s relocation, perhaps his HR dept. could advise.  In any case, I endorse Sean’s suggestion to visit the insurance provider’s office for a one-tp-one discussion on the best formula for you and your family.

For example, some doctors are amenable to sending their bills directly to an insurance company for settlement so all you have to do is to pay your share of the cost as decided by the insurer.  Other medical practitioners prefer to be paid directly by the patient who then has to send the bill and its receipt to the insurer.  This method is also often followed by private clinics and some hospitals.

So, as you’ll gather, it’s something of a mine field, which is why advice from your husband’s employer and/or colleagues could be very useful.

In any event, be sure to remember that, having made your choice, you can normally only switch to another provider towards the end of a calendar year, usually in November..

All the best, R..

The HR indicated us Helsana which they have an agreement, but even though it is very expensive and besides that they have a waiting period of 180 days for the complementary insurance and they said that  Doctors’ bills are always sent to us, we pay and claim reimbursement. That is why I am searching for other alternatives. 

I would recommend not going for a company that asks you to pay first. The reimbursement cycle can be very slow and doctor's bills can quickly get extremely expensive in Geneva.... and imagine if (god forbid) someone in your family needed urgent hospital care - the prepay amount could be in the 10s or 100s of thousands!

It's not clear why the Swiss system is so expensive, when European neighbours manage to offer good health care at much lower prices, but this is the reality of living here. Possibly related to why the Swiss are the highest paid employees in Europe with the lowest rate of home ownership.

Thank you all for the informations. It was quite helpful!

I have Swica and all bills are sent to them. I was with Compact (Sanitas) for a while and had to do everything myself - they were prompt with the payments but the extra admin was annoying.