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HEALTH

MAPS: Which Swiss ski regions are open?

After closing over Christmas, a number of Swiss cantons have again opened their ski slopes - or will do so in the coming days.

Published: 29 December 2020 16:30 CET
Updated: 30 December 2020 13:42 CET
MAPS: Which Swiss ski regions are open?
Photo: Christof STACHE / AFP

There will be more skiing options open to winter sports fans in Switzerland before the end of 2020, with more cantons announcing they will again open their slopes. 

Zug, Glarus and Appenzeller Innerrhoden announced on Tuesday that they will again allow skiing from Wednesday, December 30th. 

The cantons made the decision on the basis of hospital capacity, reports 20 Minutes. 

The cantons will join Appenzeller Ausserrhoden, Uri, Obwalden and Nidwalden in opening on the 30th of December. 

On New Year's Eve, St Gallen will again open its ski slopes. 

From the 30th, the number of cantons where skiing is again allowed will be 14. 

Four more – Schwyz, Zurich, Solothurn and Lucerne – remain closed, while a further six cantons (Schaffhausen, Basel City, Basel Country, Aargau, Geneva and Thurgau) do not have ski slopes. 

Closed for Christmas

Major ski areas in Switzerland were open over the Christmas holidays but some smaller ones announced they would remain closed. 

For instance, ski lifts in Schwyz, Zug, Lucerne, Uri, Nidwalden, Obwalden, Zurich, Appenzell Innerrhoden, and St. Gallen announced they would not be operating.

These cantons heeded the plea from Zurich’s authorities, who urged for pistes to close so as not to overburden medical facilities, which are already near their full capacity.

“The hospitals in Zurich are hardly in a position to care for accident victims from the ski areas ”, officials said.

Which ski slopes are open when in Switzerland?

Other than those scheduled to open on December 30th, Lucerne plans to reopen its ski areas on January 8th, provided infection rates continue to fall. 

The following map shows where skiing is allowed – and where it is not – in Switzerland. 

 

 

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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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