Crans-Montana fire: Who covers victims’ medical costs?

The fatal New Year’s Eve fire at the Swiss ski resort of Crans-Montana left 41 people — many of them young people — dead, making it one of the deadliest disasters in Switzerland’s recent history.

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Six Italian teenagers were among those killed. At least 13 Italian nationals required hospital treatment for severe burns.

Months on, the tragedy has taken on a political dimension as diplomatic tensions rise between Italy and Switzerland.

On 21 April, Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni posted on X that she was”shocked” after reports emergedthat some of the victims’ families had received what appeared to be medical bills from hospitals in Switzerland.

The reaction followed Italian media reports that three families had been sent documents listing treatment costs ranging from 17,000 CHF to 68,000 CHF (€ 17,700 and €71,000) by a hospital in Sion, where several victims had received care, prompting a wave of criticism in Italy.

Invoices issued to victims’ families

Speaking to Italian news agency AGI, the country’s ambassador to Switzerland, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, said he had spoken with the president of the canton of Valais, Mathias Reynard, who indicated the documents had been issued in error.

Swiss authorities also told The Cube, Euronews’ fact-checking team, that victims of the fire would not have to pay any medical costs themselves, with bills covered by insurance and victim support centres.

According to a spokesperson for the Swiss Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA), the families of victims who spoke to Italian media received copies of invoices for “information purposes” as per Swiss law. Still, they were not required to pay anything.

Copies of the invoices published by the Italian news agency ANSA show a note included on the paperwork stating that the invoice “does not have to be paid”.

Nonetheless, Domenico Radice, a lawyer representing some of the victims, described the documents as “inappropriate”.

He argued that, given what he described as “alleged public responsibilities”, the costs should be covered by Swiss authorities and that there was no need to send such documents.

Does Italy need to refund Switzerland?

Switzerland’s Federal Social Insurance Office (FSIO) told The Cube that under European-wide rules, people who are injured while temporarily staying in another country are entitled to receive necessary medical treatment, which is then billed to their insurer.

Under European rules on social security coordination, hospitals will provide necessary care without charging individuals directly, and costs incurred by hospitals in the host country will later be reimbursed by the national health system of the home country — in this case, Italy’s.

According to our research, this system is used routinely across EU and EFTA countries, including Switzerland.

But despite the legal framework, the question of whether Switzerland has an ethical responsibility to cover the costs remains a political debate.

The issue escalated days later when Meloni revisited the matter, citing media reports suggesting Switzerland might seek reimbursement from Italy for what she described as “exorbitant” medical expenses, including for short hospital stays. She made clear that Rome would oppose any such request.

Ambassador Cornado told The Cube that Italy would ask Switzerland to waive the reimbursement fees, citing an instance in which Rome has already done the same thing.

“Italy will not ask Switzerland to reimburse it for the helicopter that was sent to transport two Italian victims to a hospital in Milan, where they were treated for two months,” he said. “And Italy asks Switzerland to do the same.”

Italy argues that the canton of Valais bears a level of responsibility for the tragedy, alongside the owners of Le Constellation bar, where the fire broke out.

As the investigation into the fire continues, authorities are interrogating 13 suspects on charges including negligent homicide, negligent bodily harm, and negligent arson.

Several current and former officials of the Valais canton have reportedly been questioned in relation to the fire.

Prosecutors are investigating whether safety regulations at the bar complied with local rules after it emerged in the fire’s aftermath that safety inspections had not been carried out at the bar since 2019, despite an annual requirement to do so.