Yes Mamie- in Switzerland we have compulsory health insurance, provided by an array of Insurers- with a huge number of different policies- and with huge differences in premiums, depending on lots of things- including what 'franchise' you choose- eg the amount of mony you will have to pay out of your own pocket, per year, before the insurance takes over. The great thing is that they cannot refuse pre-exisiting conditions. Most people take 'basic' + 'supplementary' to give more choice and flexibility and to cover things that would normally not be covered (like some therapies like acupuncture, chiropractor, etc). We can't have supplementary, as we were refused due to age of joining and especially pre existing conditons.
We had done our research very carefully before moving here after we retired, first of all to look after my parents.
As retirees from UK, without any pension or income from Switzerland, we were entitled to Form S1- which gives us an exemption from Swiss Insurance- as for all retirees from EU and EEA. We still had to pay the first 300 per year each, + 10% up to a maximum of 700 (so 1000 each per year) - but if S1 becomes invalid- it will be about 1000 per month- and we still have to pay first 300 and 10% up to 700 on top.
It's a lot of money- combined with massive loss of income due to exchange rate which is likely to get worse. 50% down so far...