The Swiss government has sparked diplomatic tensions by demanding Italy pay medical expenses for treating its citizens who were injured in a deadly New Year’s Eve fire at the Crans-Montana ski resort that resulted in 41 fatalities.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the billing request on Friday, calling it “disgraceful” after learning that victim families had received medical invoices.
Switzerland’s Federal Social Insurance Office confirmed Saturday evening to Reuters that the country intends to recover hospital treatment costs, though they clarified the bills would not be sent directly to victim families. According to existing agreements between European Union nations and Switzerland, patients receive invoices solely for verification while charges are sent “to the relevant foreign health insurer.”
A government representative later specified that Italy’s health ministry would handle payment in this situation.
In a Facebook statement Friday night, Meloni declared: “Should this disgraceful request be made formally, I hereby announce that Italy will reject it outright and will not act upon it in any way.”
“I have faith in the Swiss authorities’ sense of responsibility and hope that the report will prove to be entirely unfounded,” she continued.
Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, told news agency ANSA on Saturday that Swiss officials are requesting over 100,000 Swiss francs (approximately $127,000) to cover treatment costs for four Italian citizens who received just one day of care at Sion hospital following the fire.
Cornado pointed out that Swiss patients injured in the same Crans-Montana incident have received months of treatment at Milan’s Niguarda hospital in northern Italy, and that Italian authorities deployed a civil protection helicopter for rescue assistance without requesting any compensation.
