Vipret is a star among a soaring number of healers in Switzerland, and during his lightning visit to Geneva he expects to treat some 300 people eager to experience the "magic" in his hands.
"With my left hand I detect what is wrong and with my right hand I heal," says Vipret, a heavyset man wearing a plaid shirt, jeans and clogs.
Switzerland may be home to some of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, but it is also proving fertile ground for traditional medicine healers like Vipret, who have been seeing booming business in recent years.
Once shunned as witches, hypnotists, bonesetters, magnetists and herbalists are surfing on the swelling organic wave, experts say, and have gained such acceptance that many Swiss hospitals have even begun referring patients to them.
"We are seeing that more and more people are turning to healers," says ethnologist Magali Jenny, who has written two best-sellers on the subject since 2008.
"There is no other place, in Europe at least, where this subject is as accepted," she tells AFP.
Annie Marie Girard, a 55-year-old French magnetist based in Geneva — a canton that recognises "spiritual healing" — agrees.
"In France, if a healer does not succeed at healing a patient immediately, you are automatically taken to court," she says, explaining why she has settled in Switzerland.
According to Jenny, more than 500 largely unschooled healers are active in the French-speaking part of Switzerland alone, which counts just about a quarter of the country's eight million people.
The art of healing is more widely practised in the French- and Italian-speaking parts of the Swiss linguistic patchwork than in the Germanic parts of the country, where people prefer to seek certified doctors, experts say.
Healers also make a better living in Catholic regions of Switzerland, like Jura in the north, Fribourg in the west, Valais in the south and Appenzell in the northeast and central Switzerland, according to the interior ministry's cultural office.
"Many people feel a bit left out of the dehumanising medical establishment, where they feel reduced to numbers. They prefer to turn to healers and more natural methods, since we are in the midst of this green, organic trend," Jenny says.
Healers are so popular in Switzerland that around 70 of them have asked Jenny to remove their names from her books, claiming they could not keep up with the demand they had generated.
Back in Geneva, people have come from far and wide to see Vipret, who charges patients 50 francs ($53) per visit.
When AFP visited, he spent less than a minute diagnosing each patient.
"I see everything: cancer, tumours, AIDS, leukaemia, iron deficiencies," he says.
Vipret, who is unschooled and whose form of healing does not fall into any official category, insists he can protect each patient against pretty much everything for the next 30 days through the power of thought alone.
His patients express wonder at his powers and the heat of his hands.
"He is really impressive," marvels 30-year-old Bertrand Bucher who had brought his pregnant wife to Vipret for a check-up.
Claire, a 70-year-old retired pharmacist who does not want to give her last name, says that Vipret "knows nothing about anatomy," yet she sees him regularly, convinced that he can cure her ills.
Many Swiss hospitals meanwhile not only refer patients to healers; patients and their families can request that a particular healer be brought in to help.
"In emergency rooms, that happens a lot," especially for burn victims or people with bleeding injuries," Fribourg hospital spokeswoman Jeannette Portmann tells AFP.
A number of cantons have officially recognised healing as "a living tradition," and both national and regional medical societies voice little scepticism about the practice.
The recent hype around the profession has meanwhile also drawn its share of quacks to the profession, experts caution, and insurers are pushing for some sort of certification requirement.
Even before the media focus, the profession was not free from charlatans.
Last month, for instance, a self-proclaimed healer in Bern was sentenced to nearly 13 years behind bars for having injected 16 of his patients with HIV-tainted blood.
HEALTH
Unscientific ‘healers’ enjoy rude Swiss health
Denis Vipret moves around the circle of 20 people waiting for his healing touch, touching their shoulders and pumping his right hand lightly to transfer its energy to each patient.
For members
HEALTH
How you can save money on healthcare in Switzerland
Between insurance premiums and over-priced drugs and other costs, healthcare in Switzerland comes at a steep price. Clare O'Dea looks at why the costs are so high and some of the ways you can save money.
On the surface, the Swiss healthcare provision model looks egalitarian. All residents are obliged by law to purchase the same basic package of insurance, and the premiums are subsidised for those on low incomes. So why is cost such a bone of contention?
The problem is that the healthcare itself is very expensive, the second most expensive system in the world after the United States. And most of the cost is shouldered by households one way or another. This hurts those on low to middle incomes the most.
Between health insurance premiums, out-of-pocket expenses and over-priced drugs, households are spending a significant chunk of their income on health. Amazingly, Swiss residents fund 59 per cent of the national expenditure on health, according to the Federal Office for Public Health figures for 2020. The rest comes from state coffers, and, to a small extent, from employers.
To bring it down to an individual level, Swiss residents shell out 478 francs per person per month on health costs. Compulsory health insurance premiums account for 252 francs of that total on average. The rest goes on supplementary (top-up) health insurance premiums (42 francs), co-payment on policies plus out-of-pocket expenses (174 francs) and ‘other funding’ (10).
Politicians across the spectrum seem to be incapable of doing anything to curb health inflation. The latest is that health insurance premiums are set to increase by 8.7 per cent in 2024. That’s not a projection but a fact, as announced by the health minister in September.
KEY POINTS: What you need to know about Switzerland’s health insurance price hikes
Public purse
The worst thing would be to miss out on your entitlements. To find out if you qualify for premium subsidies, you’ll have to go through your home canton. Each canton has its own reduction rates and rules on eligibility. In some, there are systems in place to identify and notify eligible people but in others, you have to check and apply yourself.
This possibility is definitely worth looking into if you think you might be eligible – around a quarter of the population qualify for these payments. In some cantons, the proportion of recipients is higher. Moneyland.ch has put together a list of the contact information for premium reductions in each canton.
Take the initiative
Generally speaking, to save money on healthcare costs, the insured have to take the initiative themselves. New arrivals to Switzerland are required to take out a policy within three months, and should definitely shop around. Pricing comparison websites such as moneyland.ch , comparis.ch and Priminfo (in the national languages only) help to cut through the noise and find the best deal for your individual circumstances.
Age and location are important criteria. There are infinite tiny pricing variations between the 40+ non-profit insurers (known as “Krankenkasse”, “caisse maladie” or “cassa malati”), which means you may even find a better deal by buying policies from different insurers for different members of the family.
For those who already have a policy, it makes sense to do an annual price check up when the following year’s rates are announced in the autumn. Chopping and changing, which everyone has a right to do once a year, can really pay off.
The window for changing providers has just closed but you can be ready to notify your current provider by November 30th next year. Handily, the comparison websites also provide template letters for cancelling a policy.
READ ALSO: Which Swiss health insurance providers have the lowest rates in 2024?
Different models
Even if you decide to stay with the same insurer, you can obviously change the type of policy to a cheaper version. The so-called standard model is the most expensive. Under this arrangement, you decide which doctor you’d like to see, including specialists, and make appointments when you feel the need.
There are other cheaper managed care models which are designed to cut down on unnecessary visits to the doctor. With these, you have to have a telemedicine consultation or visit a pharmacy before you get the green light to make an appointment with a doctor. There is another model where you have to see your general practitioner to get a referral to a specialist.
Calculations
The best way to save overall is to get clever with your deductible. That’s the share of medical expenses that you have to pay from your own pocket in the space of the year before your insurer starts reimbursing. The lower the deductible, the higher the premium.
Making the right choice involves a certain risk. But it is at least possible to make an educated guess based on past experience. There are several bands between 300 and 2,500 francs per year for deductibles (the amounts are lower for children).
If you tend not to need medical care and think your health costs are likely to be low in the coming year, it would make sense to go for the maximum deductible, which can translate into a saving up around 40 per cent on premiums. If you have reason to believe your bills will add up to 2,000 francs or more, then you’re better off going for the minimum deductible.
Don’t double up
That’s all speaking about the mandatory insurance package, which includes illness, accident and maternity care. But make sure you really need that accident insurance. Anyone who is employed for more than 8 hours per week is covered by their employer’s accident insurance, in which case it should be removed from their personal policy.
If you are looking to save money on health insurance, chances are you won’t be looking for additional insurance, also known as supplementary insurance. These policies give you more freedom over choice of hospital, and also cover therapies and treatments that are not included in the basic mandatory package. You can have both policies from the same provider or mix and match.
Though it can be irritating to hear this, especially if you already have a health condition, there is one final way that you can save on health costs – don’t get sick. What this advice really means is to lead a healthy lifestyle by taking exercise, eating a balanced diet, not consuming too much alcohol and cutting out smoking. Those are things we have control over, unlike genetics and luck.
Please whitelist us to continue reading.
Member comments