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VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Memento EPFL//
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SUMMARY:Health insurance - Survey
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20140212
DTSTAMP:20260601T073037Z
UID:2df11d2acdc5acccccfcb0b5a8f86270698e3d505fc40e2beeb5a9f1
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:\nAre you a foreign graduate student or postdoc in Switzerland
 ? For health insurance\, have you been covered by SwissCare\, ScoreStudies
 \, or a similar company offering affordable coverage for foreign researche
 rs?\nNot anymore.\nDue to changes to the Swiss national law OAMal/KVV art.
  2.4.\, effective January 1\, 2014\, academic post-docs and grad students 
 are being denied eligibility for this coverage\, which is decided by each 
 individual canton [links below].\nFor example\, in Vaud and Geneva\, resea
 rchers earning over a monthly limit (3500 CHF brut/month in Vaud) can no l
 onger be granted "exceptions" to take these insurances. Now we are only el
 igible for the same insurances as Swiss Citizens.\nIs this so bad\, you ma
 y ask?\nTo keep the same conditions (annual deductible/franchise)\, it wil
 l cost you at least 3 times as much.\nFor example\, through SwissCare\, a 
 33-year-old postdoc residing in the Lausanne area paid 89.50 CHF per month
  (1074 CHF per year) with a 500 CHF annual deductible.\nThe same postdoc w
 ill now pay 298 CHF per month (3\,576 CHF per year) for the same deductibl
 e (source: Supra quote\, comparis.ch).\nEven choosing the highest possible
  deductible (2\,500 CHF) costs more than twice as much\, 197.80 CHF per mo
 nth (2373.60 per year).\nBasically meaning\, unless you get very sick and 
 your health costs rise above 2\,500 CHF in the year\, your 197.80 CHF mont
 hly insurance payment earns you nothing. Moreover\, healthcare costs due t
 o an accident are covered by the accident insurance of the university.\nTh
 is change in the law affects thousands of graduate students and postdocs i
 n the Lausanne area\, yet most of us know nothing about it. We object to t
 he standards for exemption set by the canton of Vaud\, and request those w
 ho agree to voice their opinion and join us in demanding a reassessment.\n
 We understand that Swiss citizens may think we should pay the same insuran
 ce costs as they. However\, academic research performed by foreigners temp
 orarily residing in Switzerland is a large industry\, and Switzerland is w
 orld-renown for the quality of its research. To remain an attractive desti
 nation for foreign researchers\, it is important to continue to offer bene
 fits which offset the considerable cost of temporarily relocating to Switz
 erland for studies or a postdoc.\nMoreover\, the idea of a long-term gener
 al health insurance is that while you may pay a large amount of money into
  the system while you are younger\, this ensures that you can have adequat
 e care after retirement\, when medical costs are usually highest. In the p
 ast\, we only qualified for the LAMAL exemption for our first 5 years in S
 witzerland\, after which nearly all of us will leave for another research 
 position elsewhere. Now\, during these 5 years most of us will only pay in
 surance without getting anything in return. Without the exemption\, only t
 hose very few of us who settle permanently in Switzerland will ever be abl
 e to benefit from the contributions made to the Swiss healthcare system du
 ring our time here. We feel that the canton of Vaud should consider this a
 nd keep the exemption for PhD-students and academic postdocs\, regardless 
 of salary.\nIf the canton is not willing to reconsider their criteria for 
 exemption\, we strongly advise that the universities work with insurance c
 ompanies to negotiate a reduced-cost plan for all grad students and postdo
 cs\, regardless of nationality. This alternative approach would also reduc
 e costs for Swiss academics\, encouraging young researchers to stay in aca
 demia rather than driving them into more lucrative private positions by de
 fault\, only to meet the ever-rising cost of living. It is in the best int
 erest of the universities and the canton to remain attractive to prospecti
 ve academic researchers in order for Switzerland to remain on the leading 
 edge of scientific research.\nSwissCare Update on new law:\nhttp://www.swi
 sscare-intl.com/swisscare/switzerland/info/news/news/datum/2014/01/24/rese
 archers-in-switzerland.html\nOAMal/KVV art. 2.4\nhttp://www.admin.ch/opc/f
 r/classified-compilation/19950219/index.html\nCanton Vaud\nhttp://www.vd.c
 h/themes/social/prestations-assurances-et-soutien/assurance-maladie/deroga
 tion/
LOCATION:
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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