How to Get Premium Reductions for Your Swiss Health Insurance

Anyone who lives in Switzerland, or has in the past, can confirm that Swiss health insurance premiums are high! Premiums can easily add up to several thousand francs per year and take a serious bite out of your wallet. This is especially true if you do not have a very high income.

To help residents cope with the high cost of compulsory health insurance, cantonal governments offer health insurance premium subsidies to individuals and families whose incomes and wealth fall beneath certain thresholds. These subsidies are known as premium reductions. The sizes of premium reductions and eligibility requirements are set by each canton individually.

Individual premium reductions are widely used in Switzerland. Around 2.2 million Swiss policyholders – approximately 26% of the population – received premium reductions in 2017. In many cantons, every third resident receives premium reductions. In some cantons every second resident receives these subsidies. The sizes of premium reductions vary broadly. In the canton of Appenzell-Innerrhoden, the average annual premium reduction was 1127 francs in 2014. In the canton of Basel-Stadt, the average reduction was 3109 francs in the same year – almost three times as high.

In some cantons, reductions are automatically paid out based on your tax declaration. In other cantons you are automatically sent a premium reduction application after your tax returns are processed if you are eligible, but you must complete and submit the application to claim premium reductions. Some cantons do not automate the process at all, and you must apply of your own initiative if you meet eligibility requirements for premium reductions.

Premium reduction subsidies are paid directly to your compulsory health insurance provider by the government of the canton which you reside in. As a general rule, the actual compulsory health insurance premiums you pay have no effect on the size of your premium reductions. You generally will not receive higher premium reductions if you use a more expensive health insurance policy. If you use a very affordable health insurance provider and/or a very high deductible, your health insurance premiums may be lower than the subsidies paid to your health insurance provider. In many cantons your health insurance provider will pay out the positive difference to your bank account.

Premium reduction eligibility requirements with regards to taxable income and wealth also varies between cantons. You can find basic eligibility information for your canton of residence below. If you are not completely sure whether or not you are eligible, consider contacting the relevant cantonal authority and requesting information using the contact details provided below.

Contact information for cantonal premium reductions:

1. Aargau
   Gemeindezweigstelle der Sozialversicherungsanstalt (SVA) des Kantons Aargau in der Wohngemeinde
   Telefon: +41 62 836 81 81
   Web: www.sva-ag.ch
2. Appenzell Innerrhoden
   Gesundheitsamt des Kantons Appenzell Innerrhoden
   Telefon: +41 71 788 94 52
   Web: www.ai.ch
3. Appenzell Ausserrhoden
   Ausgleichskasse des Kantons Appenzell Ausserrhoden
   Telefon: +41 71 354 51 51
   Web: www.sovar.ch
4. Bern
   Amt für Sozialversicherungen
   Telefon: +41 844 800 884
   Web: www.jgk.be.ch
5. Basel-Landschaft
   Sozialversicherungsanstalt des Kantons Basel-Landschaft
   Telefon: 061 425 25 25
   Web: www.sva-bl.ch
6. Basel-Stadt
   Amt für Sozialbeiträge
   Telefon: +41 61 267 87 11
   Web: www.asb.bs.ch
7. Fribourg
   Caisse de compensation du canton de Fribourg
   Telefon: +41 26 305 45 01
   Web: www.caisseavsfr.ch
8. Geneva
   Service de l’assurance-maladie
   Telefon: +41 22 546 19 00
   Web: www.geneve.ch/sam
9. Glarus
   Kantonale Steuerverwaltung
   Abteilung IPV
   Telefon: +41 55 646 61 65
   Web: www.gl.ch
10. Grisons
    Sozialversicherungsanstalt des Kantons Graubünden
    Telefon: +41 81 257 41 11
    Web: www.sva.gr.ch
11. Jura
    Caisse de compensation du canton du Jura
    Telefon: +41 32 952 11 11
    Web: www.caisseavsjura.ch
12. Lucerne
    Ausgleichskasse Luzern
    Telefon: +41 41 375 05 05
    Web: www.was-luzern.ch
13. Neuchâtel
    Office cantonal de l'assurance maladie OCAM
    Telefon: +41 32 889 66 30
    Web: www.ne.ch
14. Nidwalden
    Ausgleichskasse Nidwalden
    Telefon: +41 41 618 51 00
    Web: www.aknw.ch
15. Obwalden
    Gesundheitsamt
    Telefon: +41 41 666 63 05
    Web: www.ow.ch
16. St. Gallen
    SVA St. Gallen
    Telefon: +41 71 282 61 91
    Web: www.svasg.ch
17. Schaffhausen
    Sozialversicherungsamt Schaffhausen
    Telefon: +41 52 632 61 11
    Web: www.svash.ch
18. Solothurn
    Ausgleichskasse des Kantons Solothurn
    Telefon: +41 32 686 22 00
    Web: www.akso.ch
19. Schwyz
    Ausgleichskasse Schwyz
    Telefon: +41 41 819 04 25
    Web: www.aksz.ch
20. Thurgau
    Individual municipal health insurance control offices
    Telefon: +41 58 345 68 40
    Web: www.gesundheitsamt.tg.ch
21. Ticino
    Ufficio delle prestazioni
    Servizio sussidi assicurazione malattia
    Telefon: +41 91 821 93 11
    Web: www.iasticino.ch
22. Uri
    Amt für Gesundheit
    Telefon: +41 41 875 22 42
    Web: www.ur.ch/praemienverbilligung
23. Vaud
    Office vaudois de l'assurance-maladie
    Telefon: +41 21 557 47 47
    Web: www.vd.ch
24. Valais
    Caisse de compensation du canton du Valais
    Section Subvention
    Telefon: +41 27 324 91 11
    Web: www.avs.vs.ch
25. Zug
    Individual municipal offices
    Telefon: +41 41 560 47 00 (City of Zug)
    Web: www.akzug.ch
26. Zurich
    Sozialversicherungsanstalt des Kantons Zürich
    Telefon: +41 44 448 50 00
    Web: www.svazurich.ch

More on this topic:
Swiss health insurance comparison
Supplementary outpatient insurance comparison
Supplementary hospital insurance comparison
More about Swiss health insurance