Foreigners cost health insurance companies less than Swiss; study sheds ‘new’ light on immigrants in Switzerland; and other news in our Tuesday roundup.
Foreigners cost health insurance companies less than Swiss citizens
Despite right-wing claims to the contrary, data from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) shows that foreign patients cost health insurance companies nearly 1,000 francs less per year than Swiss citizens.
This difference is explained in part by the age structure of the foreign population: immigrants in Switzerland are mostly of working age, while the Swiss have a higher proportion of retirees, whose healthcare is more expensive, especially in the later years of life.
Also, many foreigners return to their home countries before retirement, which relieves the burden on health insurance companies.
Study sheds ‘new’ light on immigrants in Switzerland
A research team from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and the University of Geneva analysed data containing millions of entries from censuses, population registers, and Switzerland’s central migration information system, to find out how the profile of immigrants has changed over the years.
It found that the public perception of immigrants is shaped by the outdated image from the 1990s, when numerous, predominantly Muslim asylum seekers from the Balkans came to Switzerland with the intention of staying permanently.
This image no longer reflects reality today, however.
“Most immigrants come here to pursue an education or pursue a career opportunity, but half leave the country after five to ten years,” according to EPFL’s Mathias Lerch, the study’ lead author.
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MPs don’t support the obligation to reveal offenders’ nationality
Some cantons already routinely disclose the nationality of suspects.
However, the National Council’s Legal Affairs Committee does not want to pursue a parliamentary motion which seeks to obligate the police to inform the public of the perpetrator’s nationality, along with the usual details such as age and gender.
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By not following up on this motion, the deputies reject the proponents’ argument that as foreigners are overrepresented among offenders, the public has the right to know who commits crimes in their community.
The National Council will debate this issue further during the autumn session of the parliament.
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