Upgrade in hospital? No problem!

Thinking about an upcoming stay in hospital makes most people feel uneasy. So it’s good to know about AXA Healthcare’s Hospital Flex supplementary insurance, thanks to which patients can organize their hospital stay to meet their needs perfectly. This also includes women who choose to give birth in hospital.

The two pink stripes left no room for doubt – Karin was pregnant. A much-wanted baby. The 37-year-old had imagined this moment many times in her mind’s eye, and had already followed her train of thought through to the birth and beyond. So she knew exactly how and where she wanted to give birth – in the women's clinic at Triemli Hospital in Zurich. “My long-standing gynecologist looks after patients at Triemli Hospital. I feel very comfortable with her, so I would like to have her there at the birth,” explains the expectant mother. To recover better after the birth, Karin also wanted a room on the hospital’s private ward.

Because of her specific wishes, Karin had read up on the best insurance solution even before she became pregnant. She discovered that a basic insurance policy only covers the costs of a stay on the general ward, and doesn’t allow you to choose a particular doctor. For this reason, Karin opted for a private hospitalization insurance policy: AXA Healthcare's “Hospital Flex 1” supplementary insurance.

Is supplementary hospitalization insurance worthwhile?

People facing a hospital stay often want to be able to choose their doctor and hospital themselves, have more privacy, and enjoy extra benefits. Unfortunately, many of these costs are not covered by a basic insurance policy. Basic insurance only covers the cost of the legally defined benefits, which include accommodation and treatment at the  listed hospitals in your canton. So supplementary hospitalization insurance is a clever way of pre-empting an emergency.

Flex models: real freedom of choice

AXA’s Hospital Flex supplementary insurance offers exceptional flexibility, as it meets the policyholder’s individual needs in an ideal manner. You can choose between two models: Hospital Flex 1 and Hospital Flex 2, with different conditions. All Flex policyholders benefit from a free choice of hospitals and doctors throughout the whole of Switzerland. If you want someone to accompany you during your hospital stay, AXA will contribute CHF 80 per night up to a maximum of CHF 2,000 per year towards the costs. And you can also switch to a higher class of hospital care at any time – even after you’ve been admitted. Sometimes it’s not obvious until after you're in hospital that recovering in a multiple-occupancy room is out of the question, perhaps because the other occupants are noisy, or are constantly receiving visitors. “Thanks to Hospital Flex insurance, it’s straightforward to switch from a general ward to a semi-private or private ward on the spur of the moment,” says Laetitia Amey, Head of Claims at AXA Healthcare. In a semi-private ward there are double rooms available, and a private ward has single rooms.

With hindsight, Hospital Flex insurance coverage was a godsend for Karin. After 17 hours in labor, her son eventually had to be brought into the world by Caesarean section. “I’m very pleased that my preferred doctor carried out the operation and I was able to spend the first few days with my son and my husband in the peaceful private ward. Without my supplementary hospitalization insurance, this wouldn’t have been possible.”