Premium Regions Health Insurance: Overview of All Cantons

1. What are premium regions in health insurance?

Premium regions are regional gradations of health insurance premiums within certain cantons. Healthcare costs such as doctors' tariffs, hospital prices and medical infrastructure vary considerably from region to region. Urban areas like Zurich or Geneva have higher treatment costs than rural regions. This is reflected directly in the monthly premium.

The law allows a maximum of three premium regions per canton. Premium regions exclusively concern the mandatory basic insurance in the Swiss health insurance system. Supplementary insurance and cost participation follow different pricing models.

2. How many premium regions are there per canton?

Not all cantons use several premium regions. Smaller and predominantly rural cantons often have only a single premium region. The following table shows the current distribution with the maximum premium differences between regions. The difference for Region 3 refers respectively to the premium level of Region 2.

Source: Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH)

3. Who determines the premium regions?

The premium regions are not determined by insurers, but by the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA). Which municipality belongs to which region is laid down in the FDHA Ordinance on Premium Regions, including the maximum permissible premium differences (Annex 2).

This classification has remained largely unchanged since 2004. Adjustments mostly arise with municipal mergers when two localities from different regions merge. Cantons can submit change proposals to the FDHA (Art. 91b KVV). For example, the canton of Vaud changed from three to two regions in 2009.

The region assignment is regulatorily set and cannot be changed. Insurer choice, insurance model, deductible and age brackets offer within one's own region the greatest leeway for the premium. With low income, a premium subsidy additionally comes into question.

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4. What changes when moving to a different premium region?

A move directly influences your monthly premium. When moving to a cheaper region, it drops; when moving to a more expensive region, it rises.

As soon as you report the change of address, the insurer adjusts the premium to the new premium region on the next first of the month. This applies both to intra-cantonal moves between regions and to moves to a different canton. An insurer switch is possible only at the ordinary date from 1 January. A move does not constitute a special termination right.

Procedure step by step:

1. Check premium region at destination.
2. Report change of address to the insurer.
3. Carry out premium comparison in the new canton.
4. Note the deadline for a possible insurer switch (30 November).

This article was first published on 23/02/2026