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HEALTH

Sweden removes Switzerland from travel warning list

Sweden has removed its recommendation against its citizens travel to Switzerland, just two weeks after issuing the advice ‘for political reasons’.

Published: 29 July 2020 18:12 CEST
Sweden removes Switzerland from travel warning list
Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

Sweden on July 15th advised its citizens against traveling to Switzerland. On July 29th, Sweden rescinded the order, effective immediately. 

A government representative confirmed to Swiss media in mid-July that the move was a political retaliation for Switzerland's mandatory quarantine of arrivals from Sweden.

‘We advise you not to travel': Sweden retaliates against Switzerland's quarantine order 

Despite relatively similar infection rates, Sweden removed travel warnings for France, Germany and Italy but kept the advice in place for arrivals from Switzerland. 

Switzerland announced a quarantine for arrivals from ‘high risk’ countries from July 6th onwards, with Sweden put on the list due to its high infection rate. 

When revising the list on July 22nd, Sweden was removed. 

READ: Which countries have quarantines for Swiss arrivals?

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HEALTH INSURANCE

Could glasses and contact lenses soon be covered by Swiss health insurance?

The Swiss health system is ranked among the best in the world, but some essentials, like glasses, aren't automatically covered by health insurance. That could soon change, however

Published: 16 May 2024 15:06 CEST
Could glasses and contact lenses soon be covered by Swiss health insurance?

Green Party Federal Councillor Katharina Prelicz-Huber revealed in an interview with newspaper 20 Minuten this week that the Federal Parliament had tabled a motion to include prescription glasses and contact lenses in Switzerland’s mandatory health insurance scheme. 

Prelicz-Huber stated: “The purpose of compulsory health insurance is to provide the services you need to get or stay healthy,”

The motion forms part of the legislation that will be voted on during the 2024 summer session of the Federal Council. 

Proposed changes 

According to Switzerland’s peak optician body, 4 in 5 Swiss wear glasses or contact lenses at some point. 

It’s no surprise that statistics repository, Statista, projects the Swiss eyewear industry to be worth €1.37 billion by 2028. 

Currently, glasses and contact lenses are covered for up to 180 francs for children until age eighteen, if they are proscribed by a doctor.

Adults can also claim money back for glasses and contact lenses – however, they must be suffering from one of a short list of specific conditions such as keratoconus – where the cornea is distorted – or severe myopia, otherwise known as near-sightedness.

They must also have been specifically prescribed them by a doctor or optometrist. 

Otherwise, supplemental optical insurance must be purchased in Switzerland to ensure you can recoup the cost. 

Under the Green Party proposal, glasses, contact lenses, and other visual aids would be covered, regardless of age. 

Rising premiums prompt opposition 

Not everybody agrees with the proposal. 

The right-wing SVP has already spoken out against it, with Federal Councillor Diana Gutjahr arguing: “If we seriously want to slow down the burdensome and constantly rising health costs for the benefit of the population, we [must] show the political will not to constantly expand the benefits of compulsory health insurance.”

A spokesman for the the health insurance advocacy group Santesuisse, Matthias Müller, echoed Gutjahr, claiming that insurance constitutes “financing for extraordinary events such as illness.”

“If almost everyone benefits from a certain service, it is no longer an insurance benefit.”

A date for the vote has yet to be announced. 

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