Health insurance premium reduction in Switzerland: who gets it and how to apply
Each canton regulates premium reduction: it decides who is entitled, how much they get and whether an application is needed, and pays it straight to the insurer, which lowers the premium (FOPH, October 2026). For lower and middle incomes, federal law sets a minimum: at least 80% of children’s premiums and at least 50% of those of young adults in education (KVG art. 65 para. 1bis). The guide compares four cantons with deadlines and offices and does not assess your case.
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Track your groceries in Rappn, freePremium reduction is a contribution by your canton towards the basic health insurance premium of people in modest economic circumstances. Your canton of residence decides who is entitled, how much they receive and how to apply, income limits included. It pays the amount straight to the insurer, which lowers the premium you pay (FOPH, priminfo). Since 1 January 2026 cantons must also fund it with a minimum share of the gross costs of basic insurance.
Updated October 2026. Sources: Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH; premium subsidies, FAQ, and the counter-proposal and initiative pages, in German); priminfo (in German, French and Italian); Fedlex, KVG (the Health Insurance Act) art. 65 and transitional provisions, in German; pages of Zurich (SVA, press release), Bern, Vaud and Ticino, in the canton’s language (viewed on 21 October 2026).
What is premium reduction and who can get it?
Premium reduction, also called a premium subsidy (Prämienverbilligung in German, réduction des primes or subside in French, RIPAM in Ticino), lowers the basic insurance premium of people in modest economic circumstances. Each canton decides what that means: it sets who qualifies, how much they get, the procedure and the payment (FOPH). In 2022 about a quarter of the Swiss population, 2.3 million people, received a premium reduction (FOPH).
In Zurich, Bern and Vaud the calculation starts from tax data, in Ticino from the economic and family situation (cantonal pages). It covers basic insurance only, not supplementary insurance (Vaud). All four cantons in this guide offer an indicative calculator, which does not replace the office’s decision.
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The rules: federal government and cantons
| What | Who decides | Source (October 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Who is entitled, how much, procedure and payment | The canton of residence; it pays the insurer directly, which lowers the premium | FOPH; priminfo; KVG art. 65 para. 1 |
| Minimum for lower and middle incomes: at least 80% of children’s premiums, at least 50% of those of young adults in education | Federal government (minimum), cantons (application) | KVG art. 65 para. 1bis |
| Since 1 January 2026, minimum share for the cantons: between 3.5% and 7.5% of the gross costs of basic insurance, depending on how heavily premiums weigh on the income of the 40% of insured persons with the lowest incomes | Federal government (law), cantons (implementation) | KVG art. 65 para. 1quater and 1quinquies |
What the indirect counter-proposal changed. The popular initiative to cap premiums at 10% of disposable income was rejected at the ballot on 9 June 2024 (55.47% no). Parliament’s indirect counter-proposal, an amendment to the KVG of 29 September 2023, has been in force since 1 January 2026 (FOPH, Fedlex): in addition to the minimum share in the table, each canton must set within four years the maximum share of disposable income that the premium may take for its residents, otherwise the Federal Council sets it. In the first two calendar years after entry into force the minimum share is 3.5% in all cantons. Who is entitled and how to apply remains up to the canton (FOPH).
Automatic or on application: cantonal examples
| Canton | How you get it | Deadline | Office | Source and year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zurich | On application: by the end of July the SVA sends the form for the following year to people who probably qualify according to tax data; everyone else applies online | 31 March of the following year (for 2026: 31 March 2027) | SVA Zürich | SVA (2026, 2027) and 2026 information sheet; canton, 29 September 2026 |
| Bern | Usually an automatic check on tax data, with written notice; an application only in some cases, for example withholding tax, no tax return filed, a move from another canton or from abroad | If an application is needed: only for the current year, and it must arrive by 31 December | Amt für Sozialversicherungen (ASV) | ASV, information sheet valid from 1 January 2026, and application page |
| Vaud | On application, online or at the regional social insurance agency; the OVAM decides by letter. Notice on the page: processing times are longer than usual | Not stated on the page; the right starts on the first day of the second month after the application | Office vaudois de l’assurance-maladie (OVAM) | vd.ch, 2026 |
| Ticino | On application (RIPAM form); without an application for people receiving supplementary benefits to old-age or disability pensions (AHV/IV), supplementary child or early-childhood allowances (AFI, API), social assistance or extraordinary unemployment benefits | 31 December of the year before the year for which you request RIPAM; if you apply late, during that year, the right starts the following month | Istituto delle assicurazioni sociali (IAS), Servizio sussidi assicurazione malattia | IAS, information valid from 1 January 2026 |
The offices of the other cantons are in the priminfo list. Each canton sets its own income limits and they cannot be compared: Bern states that for 2026, in principle, anyone whose determining income is at most CHF 35'000 is entitled (CHF 45'000 for families with children); determining income is not the same as taxable income (information sheet valid from 1 January 2026). These are the canton’s limits for 2026, not an assessment of your case.
How to apply, step by step
The procedure is the one of your canton of residence.
- Find the office in the priminfo list, which also gives each office’s website.
- Check whether an application is needed and try the canton’s calculator: it gives an indication, not a decision.
- Prepare the documents. Vaud, for example, asks for the latest tax assessment, the policies of everyone in the household, an ID document and, for adults in education, a certificate of studies.
- Submit the application by the deadline and note the date in the deadlines calendar. In Zurich the first reply can take up to six months and no confirmation of receipt is sent (SVA).
- Check your insurer’s invoice: it deducts the amount received from the canton from the premium (FOPH). If your situation changes, ask the canton how to report it: the law requires cantons to take the most recent income and family circumstances into account, in particular at the insured person’s request (KVG art. 65 para. 3), and Vaud warns that an income increase reported late can lead to repayment of what was paid in excess.
Children and young adults in education
For lower and middle incomes the cantons must reduce children’s premiums by at least 80% and those of young adults in education by at least 50% (KVG art. 65 para. 1bis); what counts as “lower and middle” is decided by the canton. For 2027, Zurich grants this minimum up to a determining income of CHF 71'200 for families with only minor children and CHF 94'900 for families with at least one young adult in education, with an asset limit of CHF 300'000 of taxable assets (cantonal government decision of 18 March 2026, press release). These are the canton’s limits for 2027, not an assessment of your case.
Who counts as a family is also a cantonal rule: in Zurich the parents’ tax data count too for young adults in education (SVA, 2026); in Vaud, for adults in first education under 26 who depend on their parents, a percentage of the parents’ income is added (vd.ch). For the costs, see the guides to the family budget with children and the student budget.
How does it fit into your monthly budget?
In your budget, enter the premium you really pay, that is the premium after the reduction: the insurer receives the amount from the canton and deducts it from the invoice (FOPH); in Zurich the policy still shows the full premium (SVA, 2026). If the canton first pays a provisional amount and recalculates it with the definitive tax data, as Zurich does (SVA, 2026), a correction can follow, and in Bern and Vaud what was paid in excess can be claimed back (ASV, 2026; vd.ch): if you want to be cautious, set the difference aside until the final decision. Other items: fixed costs; 2027 premiums: switching health insurance and the deductible; differences between cantons: cost of living by canton.
For groceries only, you can keep track in Rappn, a free Swiss app (iOS and Android) that compares the current promotions of seven Swiss retailers and turns receipts into a spending overview: you photograph a receipt, upload it from your gallery or enter a purchase by hand, and the app sorts your purchases into categories and shows your spending by month, next to your own monthly average; you can export your receipts as PDF or CSV. Rappn does not cover health insurance, premium reduction, rent or taxes. Rappn is building an AI assistant for groceries: you can join the waitlist.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who is entitled to premium reduction?
The canton of residence decides: it sets who qualifies, how much they get, the procedure and the payment (FOPH, October 2026). For lower and middle incomes federal law requires at least 80% of children’s premiums and at least 50% of those of young adults in education (KVG art. 65 para. 1bis). The canton’s calculator gives an indication, not a decision.
Do I have to apply or does premium reduction arrive on its own?
It depends on the canton: some reduce premiums without an application, in others you must apply (FOPH, October 2026). In Bern entitlement is as a rule checked automatically, in Zurich people who probably qualify receive a form to return and everyone else applies online, in Vaud you need an application and in Ticino the RIPAM form, except for people who receive certain social benefits (cantonal pages, 2026).
By when do I have to apply for premium reduction?
The canton sets the deadline. Examples: Ticino, by 31 December of the year before the year for which you request RIPAM (IAS, 2026); Zurich, reduction for 2026 until 31 March 2027 (SVA Zürich); Bern, if the check is not automatic, only for the current year and by 31 December (ASV); Vaud states no deadline and the right starts on the first day of the second month after the application (vd.ch, 2026).
How much premium reduction will I get?
The canton decides, so there is no amount that holds for everyone and this guide gives none. A federal minimum applies to children and young adults in education: at least 80% of children’s premiums and at least 50% of those of young adults in education, for lower and middle incomes (KVG art. 65 para. 1bis). You see the actual amount in the canton’s decision and on your premium invoice.
Does Rappn help with health insurance?
No: Rappn helps you only with groceries, not with premiums, premium reduction or taxes. Rappn is building an AI assistant for groceries: you can join the waitlist.