I’m guessing that we all had our accidents in Switzerland so maybe it’s different in Gumby’s case if the accident took place abroad.
I have had 5 orthopedic surgeries related to accidents while living in CH, and one of them was following an accident abroad that required a trip to an emergency room and initial diagnosis in a foreign country. In all cases 100% of the physio costs were covered by my Swiss accident insurance (the most basic plan Suva offers), my standard health insurance was not involved at all. And I was able to have physio in an independent physio cabinet, not at the hospital.
Note that following the accident abroad, in order to have physio in CH I still needed to have a prescription from a Swiss medical doctor. But the locality of where I had the accident was irrelevant.
Two tips that come to mind:
1. Because its difficult to carry anything using crutches, I ensured that there was a table 'bridge' between my kitchen and my lounge chair so that I could put tea or a plate etc down and slide it along.
2. I found it useful to put a dining table chair with its back against the kitchen cupboards. I then could kneel on it to prepare meals.
Damit physiotherapeutische Leistungen aus der obligatorischen Krankenpflegeversicherung übernommen werden können, benötigen wir eine ärztliche Verordnung (Art. 5 Abs. 1 KLV).
Die ärztliche Verordnung muss von einem in der Schweiz anerkannten Arzt erfolgen (Art. 36 KVG) und muss über einen Weiterbildungstitel nach Art. 20 des Medizinalberufsgesetzes vom 23. Juni 2006 (MedBG) ausweisen (Art. 38 und Art. 39 KVV). An diese gesetzlichen Vorgaben sind wir als Krankenversicherung gebunden.
Da die ärztliche Verordnung für die Physiotherapie durch einen amerikanischen Arzt ausgestellt wurde, sind die oben erwähnten Voraussetzungen für eine Kostenübernahme nicht erfüllt.
Für Notfallbehandlungen im Ausland sowie die Rückführung in die Schweiz gelten andere gesetzliche Bestimmungen. Deshalb wurden diese Leistungen aus der Grund- und Zusatzversicherung bezahlt.
In English,
In order for physiotherapeutic services to be covered by compulsory health insurance, we need a doctor's prescription (Art. 5 Para. 1 KLV).
The medical prescription must be issued by a doctor recognized in Switzerland (Art. 36 KVG) and must show evidence of a further training title in accordance with Art. 20 of the Medical Professions Act of June 23, 2006 (MedBG) (Art. 38 and Art. 39 KVV). As a health insurance company, we are bound by these legal requirements.
Since the medical prescription for the physiotherapy was issued by an American doctor, the above-mentioned requirements for the assumption of costs are not met.
Other legal provisions apply to emergency treatment abroad and repatriation to Switzerland. Therefore, these benefits were paid for from the basic and supplementary insurance.
We have in addition to the basic health coverage, supplementary private accident insurance, and choice of Doctor world-wide. This does not apply to physical thearpy, as it is covered through your basic insurance. I have read the fine print and there is nowhere mentioned that the supplementary insurance covers physical therapy. I find this upsetting as we do not have a choice of doctor when we are told we have to see a Swiss doctor in order for the PT to be paid. Also, I thought that the private accident insurance would cover the PT and was told no, as long we are in Switzerland it comes from your basic health insurance.
In Susie's case, with limited availability of taxis, perhaps consider Mobility if OH is available to drive. IIRC they offer a two-month trial abo.
In cases of illnesses, as opposed to accidents, the mandatory health insurance pays half (up to 500 total in a calendar year) if medically necessary (doc's confirmation) provided the taxi company is accepted (they may have to have a contract with the insurance). But only if public transport like a Tram is not an option, the cheapest transport is to be used.