Switzerland drops 1.5 million franc medical bill for injured Italians from Crans-Montana fire

Swiss decision

On Wednesday, 4 November, the Swiss Federal Council decided to waive, on an exceptional basis, reimbursement of medical costs for Italian people injured in the New Year's Eve fire at Le Constellation in Crans-Montana. The bill, which sources put at about 1.5 million Swiss francs, will now be borne by Switzerland. Le Temps reports that twelve people of Italian nationality were treated in Swiss hospitals after the blaze. Swiss President Guy Parmelin informed Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of the decision, and the government announced it in an official note. In that note, Parmelin said the Swiss government is deeply conscious of the anguish weighing on victims' families and on people who will carry their injuries for life. Il Sole 24 ORE reports that Swiss health authorities had initially asked Italian nationals to pay the 1.5 million francs.

How the dispute developed

The row began in April, when some Italian families received copies of invoices for their children's hospital stays in Switzerland. Il Giornale says the documents were sent for information only, but they fuelled a public controversy. Under the ordinary rules on cross-border care, the costs should have been covered by Italy's health system, a position Palazzo Chigi rejected firmly. Meloni had called a possible reimbursement request "ignobile" and said Italy would send it back to the sender. Contacts followed, including talks in May between Meloni and Parmelin, before the Swiss government changed course.

The main steps, with the dates the sources give, are shown below.

Reactions in Rome

Meloni welcomed the news in a statement, saying the decision had been communicated to her personally by Parmelin.

“I am happy with this solution: no burden will fall on the families or on Italy.”

She thanked Parmelin for the sensitivity he had shown and said the decision confirms the strength of relations between the two countries. She also said her thoughts remained with the victims' families and the injured young people, and pledged that the government would keep standing by them.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who had been told of the decision by his Swiss counterpart Ignazio Cassis, called it a gesture of great solidarity in a post on X.

“It is a gesture of great solidarity and closeness, which we deeply appreciate, as the Government and as the Italian people.”

Tajani also thanked Cassis and the Swiss authorities, writing that cooperation between countries gains even more value in the face of a tragedy that has broken lives.

The rules behind the waiver

In principle, the agreement on the free movement of persons requires each country to bear the costs for people insured in its system who are treated in another country. Le Temps notes that exceptions to that principle are possible, and the Federal Council used one here. As a result, the Swiss side now bears costs that Italy's health system had been expected to cover. Il Giornale describes the waiver as closing a dispute that had strained relations between Rome and Bern for months.