Swiss National Council votes to introduce 50 franc emergency visit fee

The Swiss National Council has voted in favour of allowing cantons to introduce a 50-franc fee for emergency department visits at hospitals in Switzerland. The initiative now goes to the Council of States for a vote.

Swiss hospitals could introduce 50 franc emergency fee

Anyone visiting the hospital in Switzerland with a medical emergency could soon be paying an extra fee. The National Council, the lower chamber of the Swiss government, has voted in favour of introducing a 50 Swiss franc fee for anyone who goes to the emergency department without justification.

The extra payment is supposed to encourage potential visitors with minor issues to consider whether their injury or ailment is really an emergency or if it can be treated by a doctor or pharmacist. By encouraging residents to utilise other healthcare facilities, the fee will help to “relieve the chronically overburdened hospital emergency rooms”, reports 20 Minuten.

There will be some exceptions to the 50 franc fee: people brought to the emergency department by ambulance, anyone who has had an accident, children, pregnant women and people with a referral from a doctor.

Council of States to vote on 50 franc emergency fee

Supporters of the proposal argue that Swiss hospitals are increasingly overrun with visits, recording almost 25 percent more consultations since 2013, according to a previous 20 Minuten report. Supporters argue that Switzerland has several alternative ways to access medical help that are often cheaper and could provide some relief to hospitals.

Those against the proposal argue that each emergency case is individual and the policy would create a grey area around what issue is considered minor and thus face a fee. “Who would decide what constitutes a minor issue? Sometimes it only becomes clear during the course of treatment”, says hospital association H+ board member Conrad Engler. The regulation is “impractical and ineffective”, continues H+.

The proposal to introduce a 50 franc fee will now be considered by the Council of States. If it passes in the upper chamber as well then the initiative would likely go to a referendum, with cantons given the choice of whether to introduce the policy.