UNSMIS reimburses pharmaceutical products only when they are medically necessary and in line with the Society’s Internal Rules. A medication may be non reimbursable if:

• It is not medically necessary
• It falls under non eligible categories (such as vitamins, dietary supplements, and cosmetic treatments)
• It is not recognized by local medical authorities
• It is not prescribed by a medical doctor

If you are unsure about a medication’s coverage, you may contact us at unsmis@un.org with the prescription or product name, and we will be happy to verify this for you.

The reimbursement rate depends on the type of room that you stay in. To find the rate applicable to your case, please refer to our article on 'Hospitalization'.

Emergency hospitalization is reimbursed according to the same rates as standard hospital stays. The fact that a situation qualifies as an emergency does not entail reimbursement at a 100% rate.

Your up-to-date optical credit balance is available in your eClaims account. For detailed information on the accumulation and deduction of optical credits, please refer to our article on 'Optical Care'.

A recognized psychotherapist is a therapist who is legally authorized and licensed to practice psychotherapy in the country where they provide treatment. They must hold a degree in clinical psychology (or an equivalent qualification). In Switzerland, for example, recognized psychotherapists are typically registered with bodies such as FSP or ASP, which ensures they meet required professional standards.

For online consultations, the therapist must be recognized in the country where they practice.

For further information, please refer to our article on 'Mental & Developmental Health'.

Your up-to-date dental credit balance is available in your eClaims account. For detailed information on the accumulation and deduction of dental credits, please refer to our article on 'Dental Care'.

While pregnancy declaration is required in Switzerland to ensure 100% coverage of related medical fees, such a declaration is not applicable under UNSMIS’s rules.

Maternity-related expenses are covered as outlined in benefit 25 in Annex III of our Internal Rules.

To eliminate out-of-pocket costs, you may consider taking out complementary health insurance. For details, please refer to our article 'Complementary Health Insurance – GPAFI'.

Yes. As long as you have optical credits available in your account, the reimbursable number of lenses and frames is not limited. For further details, please refer to our article on 'Optical Care'.

To ensure regular medical follow-up, prescriptions are generally valid for six months. They may be valid for up to twelve months only if the doctor clearly indicates a longer validity.

Medical services provided by practitioners who are not considered medical doctors (MD) are only covered by UNSMIS if prescribed by a licensed medical doctor. Prescriptions issued by non recognized practitioners cannot be accepted. Without a valid prescription, no reimbursement for treatment or medication is possible.

Yes. As long as you have optical credits available in your account, the reimbursable number of lenses and frames is not limited. For further details, please refer to our article on 'Optical Care'.

For medication, yes—but only if purchased online from a website located in your country of residence or duty station. Valid prescriptions and approval by the national health authority remain mandatory. Cross border online purchases of medication are not reimbursable. For further information, please refer to our article on 'Pharmaceutical Expenses'.

For optical products, yes—including cross‑border internet purchases. To be reimbursable, the invoice must indicate the diopter, or you must attach a prescription that specifies it. For further information, please refer to our article on 'Optical Care'.

For prosthetic appliances, yes—including cross‑border internet purchases. The purchase must be supported by a medical doctor’s prescription and, if required, prior authorization of our Medical Adviser. For further information, please refer to our article on 'Medical Appliances'.

The coverage of certain treatments and medical products is subject to prior authorization by our Medical Adviser. To learn whether it is applicable to your case, please refer to the list of benefits in Annex III of our Internal Rules.
If you are unsure if prior authorization is required for a specific treatment or medical product, you may contact us at unsmis@un.org, and we will be happy to verify this for you.
Prior authorization must be requested by email at medrepunsmis@un.org at least one month in advance, when possible, to allow sufficient time for review and processing by our Medical Adviser.

Yes. Prescriptions issued via online consultations with a doctor in another country are accepted, as long as they meet the criteria for a valid prescription.

Secondary dependents are not eligible for long-term care benefits. 

Unmarried children may remain covered in UNSMIS until reaching the age of 30 provided that they are in full-time education or not in regular employment or not having a regular income.

Disabled children may remain covered without any age limit.

Children with special needs (disability recognized by HR – in receipt of allowance after the disability) may remain covered without any age limit.

Please visit the 'Staff on Special Leave Without Pay' and 'Separating Staff' pages under 'Membership' for details.

If you are employed by an organization that uses Umoja, enrolment is done through Umoja’s Employee Self-Service (ESS) platform. For a step-by-step guide on how to select the right health insurance plan and how to enrol a newborn child, please see the relevant job aid (available here).

If you are employed by UNHCR and you wish to add a newborn to your coverage, please contact UNHCR HR.

If you are employed by any other UN organization, and you wish to add a newborn to your coverage, please fill out the affiliation form (available here) and send it to your HR focal point.

Premium rates are the following:

For more details, please visit our dedicated page.

If you were originally recruited by a UN organization before 1 July 2007, five years of coverage is required while serving on a fixed-term or indefinite appointment in order to be eligible for After-Service Health Insurance (ASHI). However, if you were recruited on or after 1 July 2007, a minimum of 10 years of qualifying service is required.

After-Service Heath Insurance (ASHI) is available for staff members going on early retirement, provided that they hold a fixed-term or indefinite contract and have the necessary vesting period. For staff recruited on or after 1 July 2007, a 10-year vesting period on a fixed-term or permanent (indefinite) appointment is required. For those recruited before 1 July 2007, a 5-year vesting period under the same conditions is necessary. Enrollment in ASHI must be requested no later than 31 days following separation from service (date of early retirement).

Please refer to the 'Soon to Retire' page under 'Membership' for details.

A spouse and dependent children may remain covered under ASHI coverage if they have been enrolled for at least 5 years in a UN-provided medical insurance scheme or for at least 2 years if the spouse had coverage with an outside employer or government. However, in the case of dependents newly acquired within five years of the staff member’s separation of employment, the two- and five-year participation requirements will not apply provided such dependent(s) is/are enrolled within 30 days of the effective date of the dependent relationship. Specially protected persons may remain covered under ASHI coverage provided that they have been affiliated for at least 1 year by the time of the retirement of the staff member.

In order to be considered eligible for the bridging mechanism the insured member must:

• Be subject of an agreed termination or abolition of post.
• Be at least 50 years of age but less than 55 years of age at the time of separation.
• Have at least 10 years of cumulative participation in a health insurance scheme of an agency signatory to the Inter-Organization Agreement concerning Transfer, Secondment or loan of Staff among the Organizations applying the UN Common System of Salaries and Allowances. Participation as a temporary staff does not count towards the 10-year vesting period.
• Be a holder of a fixed term, continuing or permanent appointment at the time of separation.
• Be eligible and elect to receive a periodic benefit from the UNJSPF.
• Apply for the bridging mechanism prior to separation or within 30 days thereafter.

The bridging mechanism is approved in the context of the organizational restructuring, and it is available until 31 December 2026.

Applications may be submitted via email, at unsmisaffiliations@un.org, where you may submit any further questions as well.

From your list of claims, locate the returned claim and click on the Edit link. From the comments, read the notes from UNSMIS, perform the appropriate modifications and resubmit within the given timeline.

No, like the paper form, once sent, it can no longer be modified.

If you are not in possession of any health insurance coverage other than UNSMIS but wish to have complementary insurance plan to be covered at a 100% rate, for instance, GPAFI offers complementary coverage specifically tailored to United Nations staff.

This insurance is designed to supplement UNSMIS reimbursement rates and may cover, for instance, private room costs in the event of hospitalization, or provide up to 90% reimbursement for certain natural medicine treatments (such as massages, osteopathy, shiatsu, and hypnosis).

For details, please visit: https://www.gpafi.org

Claims are usually processed within 2–3 weeks. However, this may vary depending on our current workload. Please note that claims marked as “In Queue” have been duly received and will be processed in due course. Do not withdraw a claim unless you need to modify it, as resubmitted claims appear as new entries in our queue and may experience longer processing times. Please ensure that all required documents are attached upon submission to avoid delays caused by requests for correction.

Occasionally, additional verification may be required as part of our standard quality control, which may also extend the processing period.

For further information on claim submission, please consult the article 'How to submit a claim'.

A guarantee of payment letter (GOP) is a document prepared by UNSMIS and presented to hospitals and/or clinics upon admission serving as a guarantee of valid medical insurance coverage.

In case you would like to request a GOP, specific conditions may vary by location; please refer to article 'Healthcare Providers' for further details.

Please note that while the guarantee of payment (GOP) may facilitate direct payment and ensure you do not need to pay upfront, this arrangement does not override the standard reimbursement rules of UNSMIS.

Kindly note that UNSMIS provides a worldwide coverage, however, outside of your duty station—or, for retirees, your place of residence—, reimbursement is capped at the usual, reasonable and customary rate charged for the same treatment in the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. This limitation would allow you to receive sufficient coverage in most countries.

Furthermore, in accordance with Rule VIII/4/f of our Internal Rules (available here), certain treatments and examinations require prior authorization when performed in the United States. For details, please visit our article 'Treatments in the USA'.

Duplicate bills cannot be accepted because the Society cannot verify whether the original bill has already been submitted, either to the Society or to another insurance scheme. This creates a risk of duplicate reimbursement. In addition, auditors do not accept duplicate bills unless they are formally certified as true and correct copies of the original document.

Members should submit the original bill or receipt whenever possible.

The role of the Medical Adviser, within the framework of the Internal Rules, is to assess the safety, efficacy, and effectiveness of medical interventions. The Medical Adviser plays a critical role in bridging the gap between scientific evidence and healthcare decision-making.

The Medical Adviser reserves the right to request additional information, propose alternatives or deny prior authorization if the treatment is experimental and/or if he/she deems the treatment to be unsafe, not medically effective and/or cost ineffective.

The Medical Adviser shall determine the categories in which treatments not listed in Annex III of our Internal Rules may be classified for purposes of reimbursement.

Reimbursement rates are outlined in Annex III of our Internal Rules. If, based on this information, you believe there is an error in your reimbursement, we kindly ask you to email us the details of the issue together with the claim ID or a copy of the relevant reimbursement advice.

Please send your message to unsmis@un.org.

Once received, we will review your claim and, if necessary, request our colleagues to reassess the reimbursement. Should an oversight be confirmed, an adjustment will be issued accordingly.

From the home page, click on the My Claims tab to display a list of your claims, locate the claim you want to review and click on the Show link.

The Supplementary Plan helps protect members from very high medical bills.

Normally, the Society reimburses only part of eligible medical expenses, and the member pays the remaining share. If this personal share becomes very high during the calendar year, the Supplementary Plan limits how much the member has to pay.

Once a member’s unpaid share of eligible medical costs reaches:

• CHF 2,800 per year for an individual, or
• CHF 4,600 per year for a family,

the Society reimburses 100% of any further eligible costs above these limits for the rest of the year.

The Supplementary Plan is automatically applied when the relevant conditions are met. No subscription, enrolment, or additional contribution is required.

The Supplementary Plan applies only to benefits where it is clearly stated. If it is not mentioned in the benefit description, it does not apply.

Example 1

A hospital stay in a semi private room costs CHF 30,000.

• The Society reimburses 90%, which is CHF 27,000.
• The member normally pays the remaining CHF 3,000.

Because the annual limit is CHF 2,800, the amount above this limit is CHF 200.

• The Society reimburses this CHF 200 in full.

Total reimbursed: CHF 27,200

Example 2

A hospital stay in a private room costs CHF 50,000.

The same stay in a semi private room would have cost CHF 45,000.

• Only the semi private amount (CHF 45,000) is considered.
• The Society reimburses 90%, which is CHF 40,500.

The member’s share of this amount is CHF 4,500.
Once the CHF 2,800 limit is reached, the remaining CHF 1,700 is reimbursed in full.

Total reimbursed: CHF 42,200

The extra cost for choosing a private room is not covered and must be paid entirely by the member.

From your list of claims, locate the Status column:

• Under consideration means that the claim is being treated by UNSMIS;
• Processed means that the claim has been treated by UNSMIS;
• Returned means that you need to take action on the claim and resubmit it.

To request an exemption from compulsory Swiss health insurance (LAMal), please complete Parts 1 and 2 of the form available at the link below:

https://www.ge.ch/document/formulaire-controle-equivalence-assurance-maladie

Once you have filled out the form, please return it to us so that we can complete the insurer’s section at the bottom of the first page.

After the form has been completed by both you and UNSMIS, you will need to send it to the SAM office of your canton of residence, accompanied by an attestation of coverage issued by UNSMIS.

As of 1 January 2026, the TARDOC system has replaced TARMED and introduces stronger regulation of outpatient medical billing in Switzerland. While TARDOC provides a structured and transparent framework, the vigilance of insured members remains essential, as they are the first to know which treatments were performed and how much time was spent at the medical practice.

UNSMIS expects physicians to apply the cantonal TARDOC tariff point value as the standard reference for billing (e.g., Geneva: CHF 0.94 or CHF 0.96; Vaud: CHF 0.94). 

GPAFI offers complementary health insurance for UN staff. For details, visit http://www.gpafi.org/.

Should you wish to apply for complementary health insurance, please contact GPAFI directly.

For staff members and their eligible family members who have been insured for at least two years under any health insurance scheme within the United Nations system, the full annual dental and optical credits become available from the date of affiliation with UNSMIS.

In order for us to verify the previous coverage and make the full annual dental and optical credits available, staff members should provide us with an attestation from the previous medical insurance provider for themselves and their eligible family members via unsmisaffiliations@un.org.

For members who do not meet the above criteria, dental and optical benefits are accrued monthly on a pro rata basis, in the same manner as for newly affiliated members.

For further details, consult the pages dedicated to our benefits: 'Optical Care' & 'Dental Care'.

To request the modification of your banking details recorded for the reimbursement of your claims, send us the Banking Instruction form (available here) after filling in and signing the document—either with your certified digital or handwritten signature.

Tax attestations for the previous year are distributed automatically at the beginning of each year as soon as they become available. You can also download the document directly from your eClaims account.

If you prefer, you may also contact us and we can send you a copy of your tax attestation(s).

Digital insurance cards are always up-to-date and available offline in the UNSMIS mobile application. The app is available on both Google Play and the App Store, by simply searching for "UNSMIS".

In case the expiry date on your e-card doesn’t reflect your current contract end date, log out of the application and back in for your records to be updated.

The card may be downloaded and saved directly on your and your dependents electronic devices.

No, you do not need to report a lost insurance card. To replace your card you may simply use the digital version of your insurance card.

Physical insurance cards are automatically sent to new members only. Replacement or updated insurance cards may be requested anytime by email, free of charge by email.

While, for environmental, logistical and financial reasons, we encourage everyone to use their digital insurance cards instead, we are aware that in more remote locations or in certain regions where providers request physical proof of coverage, staff members often opt for physical cards.

By default, physical insurance card(s) are sent to the local UNHCR office whereas, for retirees, to their place of residence recorded in our system.

We may also share with you a copy of your digital insurance card, if needed.

While a simple attestation is available on your eClaims account, you may contact us in case a detailed coverage attestation is required (e.g., for visa purposes). Upon receipt of your request, we will provide an attestation that includes the period of affiliation as well as an overview of the coverage details (e.g., type of coverage, basic reimbursement rates).

The attestation is available in English and French.

An account in USD, CHF, or EUR would be preferred. Alternatively, you may also choose to register an account in any of the following currencies: GBP, AUD, CAD, DKK, HUF, JPY, MXN, NOK, NZD, PLN, SEK, SGD, THB, ZAR.

If you do not have an account in one of the above-listed currencies, we may still register your account. However, in this case, choose the currency in which you wish to receive your reimbursements, regardless of the currency of the account.

In some countries, banks may impose high commissions on transfers in foreign currencies. These would be charged to you by the bank with each claim reimbursement. If that is the case, you may wish to negotiate with your bank or consider opening an account in one of the indicated currencies.

We strongly advise against using digital banks, as transfers to such accounts may fail or be subject to significant delays. In many cases, payments are returned to us, often with high investigation or bank charges.