Health · Cantonal premium subsidies
Premium subsidies: the reduction too many households forget to claim
Every canton subsidises premiums for modest and middle incomes, automatically or upon request.
Updated 5 September 2026 · Information drawn from official legal texts (fedlex.admin.ch), the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) and Swiss federal data.
How it works
The premium subsidy is paid directly to your health insurer, which deducts it from your bill. Entitlement depends on your reference income (usually from your tax assessment), assets, household composition and canton.
Three cantonal approaches
- Automatic allocation in some cantons, but a change (lower income, birth, separation) can create an entitlement mid-year that you must report.
- Upon request in others: no application, no subsidy, even if you qualify.
- Special cases: children and young adults in education get enhanced reductions everywhere.
The reflex that pays: any life change (job loss, part-time, birth, divorce, retirement) justifies re-checking, without waiting for the next tax assessment.
Where to apply
With the competent cantonal office (compensation fund or cantonal health-insurance office, depending on the canton).
Free eligibility check
Canton, approximate income, household: we tell you whether an application is worthwhile and how to file it.
Check my eligibility📖 Official legal texts: LAMal / KVG (SR 832.10) · fedlex.admin.ch
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