The four models, and what they cost

Everyone will tell you an alternative model is cheaper. Nobody says by how much. Here are the four models recognised by law, with their floor price, their average, and the real gap against free choice of doctor.

• The HMO modelYou commit to going first to a contracted group practice. It is often the cheapest model — and also the one whose constraint is most concrete: an address.
• The family doctor modelYou designate a first-contact doctor whom you see before any other practitioner. It is the most widespread alternative model, and the least disorienting.
• Telemedicine, and the combined modelsYou call a medical advice centre before any consultation. It is the most geographically flexible alternative model: a phone line does not depend on a nearby practice.
• The standard model, or the price of free choiceThe model with no conditions: you see whoever you want, whenever you want. It is also, without exception, the most expensive of the four.

Reference profile: adult, CHF 300 deductible, accident cover included. Amounts are official FOPH premiums, excluding the Büsingen and Campione enclaves. A model cheaper on average is not necessarily cheaper where you live: the comparator gives the exact figure for your postcode.