This chapter describes the key characteristics of the Swiss health system. It identifies the main actors operating within the system and highlights their roles and relationships. Section 1.1 provides some background on salient features of Switzerland, its administrative/political structure, the characteristics of the population, and the social environment. Section 1.2 provides a brief overview of the size of the health system, and its importance within the Swiss economy. Next, in Section 1.3, the chapter focuses on governance, and the sharing of responsibilities for health policy development, and for implementation and provision. Section 1.4 explains arrangements for the financing of the health system, as well as those for the insurance coverage of the population. This is followed, in Section 1.5, by a description of the organisation of health service delivery and the relationship between providers and patients. A final section explains payment and contractual arrangements between providers and third-party payers.