Patients will not have to pay a 50-franc fee for emergency room visits; government makes plans to protect the population in case of future pandemics; and more Swiss news in our roundup on Thursday.
Emergency room visits will not be subject to an extra fee
The idea of charging 50 francs for unreferred visits to ERs has been debated in the parliament for years, with some MPs seeing this measure as a way of stopping people from seeking emergency help for mild cases and thus overburdening the health system.
But on Wednesday, the Federal Council has proposed abandoning this issue, saying that the additional administrative burdens the fee would incur “could generate disproportionate additional costs compared to the likely questionable effectiveness of the measure.”
Additionally, the government “believes that easier access to good basic medical services, as well as more targeted information and awareness-raising, can help reduce the number of people visiting emergency rooms for minor cases.”
Government wants to better protect Switzerland’s population from future pandemics
The Federal Council drew a number of valuable lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic and has formulated a plan to better protect the population if other health crises emerge.
To this end, several new steps are being taken, the government announced in a press release on Wednesday.
It is proposing an amendment to the Epidemics Act, intended to optimise the collaboration between the federal and cantonal authorities to jointly “combat the threats posed by communicable diseases and antibiotic resistance.”
That’s because some adjustments are needed to improve the prevention and management of future pandemics – for instance, to establish the division of tasks and responsibilities between different levels of the government.
If such a situation should arise, for instance, the federal government (rather than individual cantons) “will have the authority to order measures at the national level, such as the mandatory wearing of masks on public transport,” the Federal Council said.
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Switzerland’s pension fund deficit will likely be smaller than expected
The financial outlook for the first-pillar pension (AHV/AVS) is improving, the Federal Social Insurance Office (FOSA) announced on Wednesday.
The ‘distribution deficit’ is the difference between AHV/AVS revenue and expenditure. In 2024, the first pillar posted a distribution surplus of 2.8 billion francs, and a surplus of approximately 2.2 billion is expected for 2025.
But although the deficit will be smaller than expected, the introduction of the 13th pension next year will lead to negative results as of 2026. Therefore, additional funding remains essential.
Also, these optimistic projections are based on economic assumptions made in June 2025.
“They therefore do not take into account the possible repercussions of the customs duties recently imposed by the United States on the Swiss economy,” FOSA said.
The longer-term outlook “must therefore be seen in the context of an extremely volatile economic situation.”
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Weather: After the heatwave, abundant rain
The change from hot and dry to cooler and wet was quite sudden: between yesterday and Friday morning, 40 to 80 mm of rain will fall in the north and northeast of Switzerland, according to MeteoSchweiz weather service.
Locally, thunderstorms are expected, with the risk being higher in the German- than in French -speaking regions.
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