Swiss health franchise 2027: break-even calculator

The franchise (deductible) that costs you least in 2027 depends on two numbers: your likely health costs and how much less you pay in premiums each year for a higher franchise. Between CHF 300 and CHF 2,500, the higher franchise is cheaper if your costs stay below CHF 300 plus that yearly premium saving divided by 0.9, and CHF 300 is cheaper above that point. With the same insurer and model, the discount for CHF 2,500 may be at most CHF 1,540 a year, so the break-even is never above CHF 2,011.11.

If you want a lower franchise or a new insurer for 2027, your letter must reach the insurer by the last working day of November, which is Monday 30 November 2026.

Below you will find the maths step by step and the most you could pay in a bad year. This is general information, not advice on which insurer or franchise to pick.

Which franchise is cheapest for my 2027 costs?

Run your own numbers below. You need two premiums from your 2027 premium letter or from the official priminfo premium calculator: one for each franchise you want to compare, with the same insurer, the same model and the same accident-cover setting. The official site is in German, French and Italian; the English address shows German text, and its franchise calculator has no English version either.

No premiums to hand yet? The worked examples further down use made-up premiums so you can follow the logic, and the legal ceiling on the discount gives you a safe rule of thumb before your letter arrives.

What counts as "health costs" here?

Use the costs that basic insurance (KVG) would pay in 2027: doctor, hospital, prescribed medicines, physiotherapy and so on. Leave out dental care and anything covered only by supplementary insurance. If you have no idea, look at last year's statements from your insurer: they list what was billed and what you paid.

How is the break-even worked out?

Basic insurance costs you three things a year:

1. Premiums: 12 monthly payments, lower for a higher franchise.
2. The franchise: you pay the year's first costs yourself, up to your franchise. Adults choose CHF 300 (the ordinary franchise) or CHF 500, 1,000, 1,500, 2,000 or 2,500 (KVV Art. 93 and 103). Insurers need not offer every level.
3. The co-pay (Selbstbehalt): 10% of costs above the franchise (KVG Art. 64 Abs. 2), up to CHF 700 a year for adults and CHF 350 for children (KVV Art. 103 Abs. 2).

Compare a low franchise F1 with a high franchise F2. Call the yearly premium saving D: 12 x (monthly premium at F1 minus monthly premium at F2).

Below F1, both cost the same out of pocket. Between F1 and F2, you pay each franc in full under F2 but only 10% under F1, so F2 falls behind by CHF 0.90 per franc. The two are equal when 0.9 x (costs minus F1) = D:

Break-even costs = F1 + D / 0.9

The formula holds while the result is no higher than F2. For CHF 300 vs CHF 2,500 at one insurer it always is, as the saving cannot exceed CHF 1,540.

Worked example A: low costs (hypothetical premiums)

Example inputs only, not real 2027 premiums: an adult in any canton pays CHF 500.00 a month at franchise CHF 300 and CHF 400.00 at CHF 2,500. No hospital stays. Health costs in 2027: CHF 1,000.

The CHF 2,500 franchise is CHF 570 cheaper. Break-even: D = 12 x 100 = CHF 1,200, so 300 + 1,200 / 0.9 = CHF 1,633.33.

What happens if my costs turn out higher?

Worked example B: high costs (same hypothetical premiums)

Same adult, same example premiums, but 2027 costs of CHF 5,000.

Now CHF 300 is cheaper by CHF 780. To check: once costs pass CHF 2,500, the higher franchise has cost you 0.9 x 2,200 = CHF 1,980 more out of pocket, minus the CHF 1,200 premium saving.

Worked example C: the legal maximum discount

Insurers may grant at most 70% of the extra risk you take on as a discount (KVV Art. 95 Abs. 2bis). For CHF 2,500 vs CHF 300 that is 0.7 x 2,200 = CHF 1,540 a year. This example uses that maximum, so it needs no premium figures at all.

The CHF 440 gap holds from CHF 2,500 to CHF 7,300 of costs. It widens to CHF 660 once both co-pay caps are reached, from CHF 9,500. If an insurer's real discount is smaller than the maximum, the break-even is lower, never higher.

What is the most I could pay in a bad year?

The worst case is your franchise plus the full co-pay cap. With the normal 10% co-pay, an adult reaches the CHF 700 cap once costs are CHF 7,000 above the franchise.

The CHF 1,000 figure for franchise CHF 300 matches the maximum cost share priminfo gives.

Two things can push you above this table.

Hospital stays. Adults pay CHF 15 per day in hospital on top of franchise and co-pay (KVV Art. 104 Abs. 1). The amount is the same whatever franchise you choose, so it does not move the break-even. Children, young adults up to 25 in education and women receiving maternity care are exempt.

Some medicines. If your medicine costs at least 10% more than the average of the cheapest third of medicines with the same active ingredient, and it was not prescribed or dispensed that way for a medical reason, the co-pay is 40% instead of 10% (KLV Art. 38a Abs. 1 and 7). Only half of the part above 10% counts towards the cap (KVV Art. 104a Abs. 2), so a year with such medicines can cost more than the cap.

From the 13th week of pregnancy until eight weeks after the birth, no cost sharing is charged for general care either (KVG Art. 64 Abs. 7). The calculator and the tables here assume the normal 10% co-pay throughout.

Do the middle franchises (CHF 500 to 2,000) ever make sense?

That depends on the premiums your insurer charges, so check with your own figures. The legal maximum discounts show one thing clearly: at any level of costs, one of the two ends wins.

Using the maximum discount for each level (CHF 140, 490, 840, 1,190 and 1,540), here is how much each adult franchise costs compared with CHF 300 in 2027. A minus sign means cheaper than CHF 300.

In every row the cheapest choice is either CHF 2,500 (where its figure is negative and the lowest) or CHF 300 (where every figure is positive). That is a property of the maximum discounts, not a rule for every insurer. If your insurer gives a much bigger share of its maximum at a middle level than at CHF 2,500, a middle level can come out ahead, and the calculator will show it.

A middle level can still suit someone who cannot hold a CHF 3,200 reserve but expects low costs. That is a cash-flow choice, and the worst-case table above shows its price.

How does it work for children and young adults?

Children (up to age 18) have no ordinary franchise. Parents can choose CHF 100, 200, 300, 400, 500 or 600 (KVV Art. 93 Abs. 1). The co-pay cap is CHF 350, and the maximum discount for CHF 600 is CHF 420 a year.

Worked example D: child, franchise 0 vs CHF 600, maximum discount

• Break-even: 0 + 420 / 0.9 = CHF 466.67 of costs in 2027.
• Costs from CHF 600 to CHF 3,500: the CHF 600 franchise costs 0.9 x 600 - 420 = CHF 120 more.
• From CHF 4,100, when both caps are reached: out of pocket CHF 950 vs CHF 350, so CHF 600 - 420 = CHF 180 more.

Young adults (age 19 to 25, according to the Federal Office of Public Health, BAG) choose from the same franchise levels as adults, although an insurer may offer them a different selection (KVV Art. 93 Abs. 1). They have the adult CHF 700 cap. Their premiums are lower: the mean 2027 premium is CHF 338.80 a month for young adults, against CHF 487.60 for adults. If you are a young adult in education, you pay no hospital contribution.

Those means mix all franchises and models, so they are not a franchise-CHF 300 premium. Do not use them as calculator inputs.

When do I have to tell my insurer?

Lowering your franchise or leaving your insurer has a hard November deadline, and the letter has to arrive in time.

A mid-year change of insurer (to 1 July 2027) is possible only with the ordinary franchise and free choice of provider, with notice reaching the insurer by 31 March 2027. You cannot move from the ordinary to an optional franchise mid-year.

Is the minimum franchise going up?

Not for 2027, as far as the official pages show on 9 October 2026. On 13 March 2026 the Federal Council opened a consultation on raising the minimum adult franchise from CHF 300 to CHF 400. Children stay exempt. The release gives no date for it to take effect, so this page uses CHF 300. We will update it if that changes.

What this means for your budget

A higher franchise moves money from a fixed monthly bill to a possible one-off bill. The premium saving is certain; the costs are not. So the budget question is whether you can cover the gap between your best and worst year.

To plan for it:

1. Take the worst case for your franchise from the table above (CHF 3,200 at CHF 2,500, CHF 1,000 at CHF 300).
2. Check how much of it you already have in savings you would not miss.
3. Put the rest aside monthly. Covering the full CHF 3,200 for 2027 takes CHF 266.67 a month.

With the hypothetical premiums from examples A and B, the CHF 2,500 franchise saves CHF 100 a month, but its worst case is CHF 2,200 above the CHF 300 worst case. That is 22 months of savings to build the extra reserve. People with ongoing treatment or known costs in 2027 should run their own numbers before choosing a high franchise.

Any spreadsheet will do this. Our Swiss Budget Planner has a franchise and co-pay reserve line that does the monthly split for you, and the free calculators sit in the tools hub.

Sources and last checked

All figures were checked on 9 October 2026 against these official pages (German, with an English gloss):

• Federal Office of Public Health (BAG), 2027 premiums release, 29 September 2026: mean premiums, premium letter by end of October, switching by end of November.
• BAG, premiums and cost sharing and cost sharing for residents: franchise levels, co-pay, caps, hospital contribution, 70% rule.
• priminfo (federal premium site), maximum discounts, FAQ on deadlines, premium calculator, franchise calculator.
• BAG, consultation on the CHF 400 minimum franchise, 13 March 2026.
• Federal law on Fedlex: KVG (SR 832.10) Art. 7 and 64; KVV (SR 832.102) Art. 93, 94, 95, 103, 104 and 104a; KLV (SR 832.112.31) Art. 38a.