Ahead of winter, worries arise about the possible shortage of heating oil; some Swiss health insurance companies refuse to pay for life-saving treatments; and more news in our Tuesday roundup.
Worries arise about the possible shortage of heating oil
As winter approaches, heating oil reserves in many Swiss households are at an all-time low, as high prices have led to delays in placing orders.
The exceptionally low water level of the Rhine river due to the summer drought has been disrupting fuel transport for months: vessels can only load a portion of their usual cargo, while some are no longer able to navigate at all.
Swiss authorities are therefore concerned that supply problems could intensify with the arrival of cold weather, in which case the government would have to release heating oil from its mandatory reserves, having already released stocks of jet fuel to Zurich and Geneva airports.
Don’t miss our journalists’ daily news roundup from Switzerland
Some health insurance companies refuse to pay for life-saving treatments
In Switzerland, patients suffering from cancer or rare diseases sometimes need medications – known as “off-label” drugs – that are not covered by basic health insurance, but approved on a case-by-case basis instead.
However, while some insurance providers cover these treatments without any problems, others refuse to pay for them.
According to a report by RTS broadcaster on Monday, KPT health insurer has the best record, having covered 98 percent of off-label drugs, followed by Assura (96 percent) and Groupe Mutuel (94).
However, the rate of coverage is quite a bit lower at Helsana (67 percent), as well as Atupri (53 percent), and Sanitas (45 percent).
Switzerland establishes a national council against poverty
Official figures indicate that nearly 750,000 people in wealthy Switzerland live in poverty, and some 1.4 million are at risk of becoming poor.
To fight against this phenomenon, the government created the National Council for Poverty Issues on Monday.
Its goal is to “foster dialogue between people with experience of poverty, political circles, the administration, and society as a whole,” as well as to “provide impetus for the prevention of – and the fight against – this phenomenon.”
READ MORE: How many people in wealthy Switzerland are actually at risk of poverty
And the most popular Swiss-German dialect is…
If you are a foreign resident, this is probably of no huge concern to you – most probably, all Swiss-German dialects and accents sound the same to you anyway.
Be it as it may, researchers from the University of Bern explored this question by examining the use of dialects in Swiss television advertising – the most and least used.
They found that Zurich German dominates TV ads, even though “people from Zurich are often perceived as arrogant.”
On the other hand, the least frequently used dialects were those from Bern and Graubünden.
And Aargau dialect is considered the “most neutral” – linguistically, not politically.
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch w ith us at news@thelocal.ch
