Crans-Montana: Switzerland waives 1.5 million from Italy
Bern drops its claim for twelve burn victims insured in Italy. The Federal Council also credits Italian help after the disaster.
Switzerland is waiving the 1.5 million francs it would have reclaimed for the treatment of twelve burn victims from Crans-Montana who are insured in Italy. The Federal Council decided this on 4 November. After the fire of 1 January 2026, the injured were first cared for in Swiss hospitals and then transferred to Italy.
Bern thus ends the dispute over this claim with an exception from the usual billing procedure. The decision concerns the insurance of the people treated, not merely their nationality. Conversely, an injured person insured in Switzerland had also been treated in Italy. Rome had proposed that both countries mutually waive reimbursement.
A bill between health systems
Under the Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons with the EU, the country in whose system a person is insured generally bears the costs, even if the treatment takes place in the other country. That a Swiss hospital treats someone therefore does not automatically mean that Switzerland ultimately foots the bill. According to the Federal Council, however, the agreement permits deviations between the states.
On the Swiss side, the Gemeinsame Einrichtung KVG, the joint institution under the Health Insurance Act, handles such cross-border costs. During the talks it had already suspended the claim against the Italian Ministry of Health provisionally. This suspension now becomes a waiver. The sum of 1.5 million francs refers to the treatment in question in Switzerland, not to the entire medical consequences of the catastrophe.
For the one-off financial assistance, the Federal Council relies on its foreign-policy powers under Article 184, paragraph 1 of the Federal Constitution. According to its own reasoning, these allow such a decision without a specific legal basis. It is not announcing any general change to the rules for foreign patients.
Italy helped with specialists and transport
In its reasoning, the government explicitly points to support from Italy and other neighbouring countries. After the fire, Switzerland had requested help through the European Union's civil protection mechanism. In the first days, seriously injured patients had to be moved from Swiss hospitals to specialised centres abroad.
On 9 January, the European Commission documented the evacuation of 38 patients to Belgium, Germany, France and Italy. France, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania and Switzerland provided transport. French and Italian teams with expertise in burns also supported the Swiss hospitals in clinical assessments and in decisions on transfers.
This help was not only a question of free beds. Treating severe burns required specialised teams and a coordinated distribution of the injured. The Federal Council therefore describes the current waiver of costs as a sign of reciprocity and as recognition of the rapid, unbureaucratic and free support.
Rome welcomes the waiver but still calls for clarification
President Guy Parmelin informed Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of the decision. Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, in turn, thanked Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis, who had passed on the news. The Italian Foreign Ministry interpreted the decision as the result of its government's efforts on behalf of those affected.
Tajani linked his thanks to a promise to keep supporting the families and to work with the Swiss authorities to clarify responsibilities. The waiver of the medical claim does not answer these liability questions. It settles one part of the financing between the two states.
Further aid rests on a different basis
Separate support instruments exist alongside this for victims and relatives. On 20 March, Parliament passed the Federal Act on Support for the Victims of the Fire; it entered into force the following day. It includes the solidarity contribution of 50,000 francs for each person who died or received inpatient treatment. This aid must be distinguished from the waiver of reimbursement decided today.
According to the Federal Office of Public Health (BAG), the cantonal victim support offices are the central point of contact for those affected. Financial, psychological and other assistance is coordinated there. With the decision of 4 November, the Swiss claim against Italy now falls away; the care and support of the injured remain a longer-term task.
Sources
- Federal Council: waiver of costs of 4 November 2026
- FOPH: care and support after the fire
- European Commission: medical evacuations, 9 January 2026
- Italian Foreign Ministry: reaction from Antonio Tajani
- Title image: Gamemaster669, Crans-Montana lake
- Article image: Zinneke, Federal Palace Bern
- Image licence: CC BY-SA 3.0
