New format of Swiss doctor’s bills goes into effect in 2026; expanded summer flights from Geneva airport and more news in our Tuesday roundup.
Conflicts and racist incidents have been reported in the Swiss army
At the military barracks in Payerne (Vaud), a conflict between recruits from German- and French-speaking Switzerland had recently escalated into racist insults and Nazi symbols in a WhatsApp chat.
While the military justice system convicted one of the recruits involved for racist content, it classified the acts as “minor offences” and issued a fine as well as suspended sentence.
Experts, however, see no evidence that the army is more racist than civil society, but they do observe a decreasing threshold for openly racist expressions.
According to military sociologist Szvircsev Tresch, “conflicts along linguistic or regional lines – for example between German-speaking Swiss, French-speaking Swiss and those from Ticino – are nothing unusual in the military.”
Elected officials seek to ban paper invoice fees
Some large companies in Switzerland are charging their clients for sending paper invoices.
At Swisscom, for instance, this cost is 2.90 francs, while Sunrise and Salt charge 3.95 francs.
These and other companies justify the fees by citing higher costs involved in creating and sending out paper bills.
This practice is, however, now facing opposition in the Parliament.
MP Emmanuel Amoos is among those who want to ban all fees associated with paper invoices and has filed a motion to this effect.
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And speaking of paper invoices…
New format of doctor’s bills goes into effect in 2026
The most noticeable change in these invoices is an additional sheet with several QR codes, which is part of the reimbursement claim form.
So in addition to actual doctor’s bill, you will receive a simplified summary of services.
However, it will take some time before all medical practices send out such a summary, according to the Swiss Medical Association (FMH).
The new-format invoices are only important for patients who have to pay a bill themselves before sending it for reimbursement to their health insurance company.
This supplementary sheet must always be included because health insurance companies can no longer process claims without this QR code sheet.
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Travel news: New and expanded summer flights from Geneva airport
From June 19th, the airline Air Europa will operate two daily flights between Geneva and Madrid, with the possibility to continue the journey to 22 destinations in South America via Madrid.
And from March 29th, the flight from Geneva to Abu Dhabi with Etihad, which is now flying between the two cities three times a week, will become daily.
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at news@thelocal.ch
