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HEALTH

IN PICTURES: Swiss hit the slopes ‘to save ski season’

Can Switzerland's love of the mountains and passion for winter sports save an industry crippled by coronavirus?

Published: 24 November 2020 17:45 CET
IN PICTURES: Swiss hit the slopes 'to save ski season'
Skiers line up for a chairlift in the Swiss ski resort of Verbier. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

The coronavirus crisis shuttered Switzerland's ski resorts in the spring, but they are banking on tighter precautions and the Swiss love of the mountains to save them as the winter season kicks off.

Hikers at the Swiss ski resort of Verbier getting an A+ in social distancing. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

A masked skier carves up some pow-pow at the Swiss ski resort of Verbier. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

At the end of October, the Swiss Ski Lift Association tightened measures against the virus, making it mandatory to wear a facemask not only in closed cable car cabins, but also on open-air chair lifts and in queues.

READ MORE: Can Switzerland still save its ski season?

The resorts are also counting on the Helvetic love of the outdoors, with lift associations launching a campaign urging the Swiss to “hit the slopes”.

“This is where we have a trump card to play,” said Vaucher, who has given up on US and Asian visitors this year, but hopes his compatriots will head for the mountains in greater numbers.

A skier at the Swiss ski resort of Verbier. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

Former alpine skiing Olympic champion Didier Defago (L) and Televerbier CEO Laurent Vaucher both wearing a protective face mask at the Swiss ski resort of Verbier. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

Gregory Quin, a sports historian at the University of Lausanne, said the medium-altitude resorts could do especially well with the Swiss this year “because people rely on proximity”.

READ: Will an American-style queuing system end chaos at Swiss ski lifts? 

There is also a glimmer of hope that European tourists could still flock to Switzerland to ski over Christmas after Bern recently lifted quarantine requirements for people arriving from most of the continent.

Skiers get off a chair lift at the Swiss ski resort of Verbier. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

Skiers at the Swiss ski resort of Verbier. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

A snowboarder at the Swiss ski resort of Verbier. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

Skiers at the Swiss ski resort of Verbier. Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP

But it remains to be seen whether anything like the usual numbers will do so, considering the difficulties to travel from a range of countries currently under some form of lockdown.

Even if the number of skiers remains high, resorts will largely have to do without income from apres-ski activities and ski schools, which have been banned in several cantons.

That will be tough, given that ski schools and camps can account for up to a third of a station's revenues, Quin said.

By the end of October, 110,000 people had already signed up for the 749-Swiss franc ($820, 695-euro) Magic Pass, an annual unlimited ski lift access at 30 resorts.

Valais, where the Verbier resort is located, has been one of Switzerland's hardest-hit cantons when it comes to the virus. 

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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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