Switzerland: our cross-border report now reads the LAMal tariffs the FOPH approves for residents of France

What changed

This note records a correction to our tools, not a change in the law. A cross-border worker employed in Switzerland and living in France chooses once, within three months of starting the job, between Swiss health insurance (LAMal) and the French cross-border scheme (CMU frontalier). If they choose LAMal, they do not pay the premium of the canton where they work: insurers apply to policyholders living in a European Union state the tariff the Federal Office of Public Health approves for that country of residence, published every autumn in the overview “Primes de l’assurance de base UE/AELE/UK” (EU/EFTA/UK basic insurance premiums). For France, thirteen insurers are listed, and the tariff depends neither on the canton nor on the municipality of work.

Until 8 November 2026, our cross-border report (the detailed salary simulation sold for a job in Switzerland with residence in France) and the cross-border scenario of our Switzerland page used, as the LAMal hypothesis, the average standard premium of an adult living in the canton, as the FOPH publishes it for people domiciled in Switzerland. For Geneva, that premium is CHF 759.80 a month for 2027, CHF 9,118 a year. The figure is accurate, but it is not what a resident of France pays. In the 2027 EU/EFTA/UK overview, the adult tariffs without accident cover for France range from CHF 209.30 a month (Helsana) to CHF 823.10 (KPT), with a median of CHF 489.30 (Agrisano). The table “without accident cover” is the one that applies to an employee, already insured against accidents by the employer’s accident insurance; the table “with accident cover” concerns a policyholder without salaried activity.

Since 8 November 2026, when the buyer typed no premium, the LAMal column of the cross-border report uses the 2027 median tariff approved for France, for the employee alone, spouse and children not included, and one line names the number of insurers, the lowest and the highest tariff with their insurer, the title of the FOPH document and its release date. When the buyer typed their own premium, it is used as is and the range line still appears. The cross-border scenario of the Switzerland page shows the same range, and the hint under the premium field repeats it. The Swiss resident card keeps the cantonal standard premium, which remains the right reference for a resident. No insurer is recommended: the choice between LAMal and the cross-border CMU, then between insurers, depends on each household’s situation and is a matter for an insurance broker.

Effective date

The tariffs of the 2027 overview apply to premiums due from 1 January 2027; those of the 2026 overview, CHF 200.00 to 823.10 a month for France (same median of CHF 489.30), apply until 31 December 2026. Our report and our page display the 2027 table, to stay aligned with the resident line, which already says 2027; both editions are kept in our data with each insurer’s FOPH number, the version identifier printed in the footer of the document and the checksum of the file read. The correction has been live in the cross-border report and on the Switzerland page of the calculator, in both languages, since 8 November 2026. The Swiss tax and social scales of the calculator were not re-verified on this occasion and their verification date does not change.

Worked example

Computation produced by our cross-border report, Geneva, annual gross salary of CHF 120,000, single without children, age band 35 to 44, no premium typed. Swiss social contributions (CHF 12,693) and the Geneva source tax (CHF 18,672, scale A0 2026) are unchanged; only the cost of health insurance moves. The net without health insurance is CHF 88,635.

The cross-border CMU column of the same report, an 8% contribution above an allowance equal to 25% of the 2026 annual social security ceiling, stays at CHF 7,686 of contribution and CHF 80,949 of annual net. The gap between the former hypothesis and the corrected median is CHF 3,246 a year on the net shown; depending on the insurer chosen, the net under LAMal spreads over CHF 7,365 between the lowest and the highest tariff.