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Switzerland under fire for cutting payments for gluten free children

From January 2022, Switzerland will remove a subsidy payment made to children who cannot eat gluten.

Published: 9 November 2021 13:25 CET
A child sits with a piece of bread and a can of soup
Switzerland will no longer make payments to families of people with children who cannot eat gluten? Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

The payments are made to families with children who have celiac disease, which means they cannot consume foods with gluten such as pasta and bread. 

The government has come under fire for the removal, with critics saying it places undue pressure on poorer families with children. 

Why is there a ‘celiac’ subsidy in Switzerland?

In Switzerland, celiac disease has been placed on the list of ‘birth defects’, which thereby entitles anyone with a child with birth defects to a compensation payment. 

The amounts paid range from CHF600 to CHF1450 per year. No replacement payments will be put in place. 

The government has however now said that as the condition can be treated relatively easily, it should no longer be the target of compensation payments. 

READ MORE: How much does it cost to raise a child in Switzerland?

For example, Swiss health insurance pays for medications which can be used to treat the condition. 

The government will phase out the payments, which are for each child under the age of 20 who genuinely has a celiac condition, on January 1st, 2022. 

‘They don’t want to serve rice everyday’

While gluten free diets have grown in popularity in Switzerland and elsewhere in recent years, the amount of people who actually have the condition is relatively rare. 

Around 80,000 people in Switzerland – roughly one percent of the population – genuinely have a celiac condition. Around 3000 people received the lump sum payment in 2020. 

Tina Toggenburger, President of the IG Celiac Disease Association, told 20 Minutes that there would be huge financial implications for families who were forced to do without the subsidy. 

“Those affected by celiac disease have to reckon with significant additional costs – around 200 francs per month – compared to a normal diet,” she said. 

VERDICT: How to save money when raising children in Switzerland

“Celiac disease is not a lifestyle disease, it has massive health implications. This must be taken into account in future decisions.”

Toggenburger said that while the medicines may be free, the additional costs of a gluten free diet would not be covered. 

“Financially weak families have no means to pay their child so much more expensive food. And they don’t want to serve rice every day.”

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ENERGY

EXPLAINED: How high will heating bills be this winter in Germany?

The cost of energy is expected to rise again this coming winter, even though the government's price cap is supposed to be in effect until April 2024. Here's what households can expect.

Published: 31 October 2023 10:31 CET
Updated: 5 November 2023 22:45 CET
EXPLAINED: How high will heating bills be this winter in Germany?

The onset of winter will raise concerns for many in Germany about the cost of heating their homes, with memories of last year’s rocketing prices and concerns over domestic gas supply resurfacing. 

But, compared to last year, the energy prices have now largely stabilised, though they are still higher than in 2021.

The stabilisation in prices is partly thanks to the government’s energy price cap which came into force earlier this year to cushion the blow of soaring energy prices by capping electricity costs at 40 cents per kilowatt-hour and natural gas at 12 cents.

READ ALSO: Germany looks to extend energy price cap until April 2024

The federal government plans to maintain this cap until the end of April, though this could be extended even longer, if necessary. 

How high are heating costs expected to go this year?

For the current year, experts from co2online expect somewhat lower heating costs than last year.

Heating with gas, for example, is expected to be 11 percent cheaper in 2023 than in 2022, costing €1,310 per year for a flat of 70 square metres. 

The cost of heating with wood pellets will drop by 17 percent to €870 per year, and heating with heating oil will cost 19 percent less and amount to €1,130.

According to co2online, the costs for heating with a heat pump will drop the most – by 20 percent to €1,1105. The reason for this, according to co2online, is a wider range of heat pump electricity tariffs.

Tax hikes in January

Starting January next year, the government will raise the value-added tax on natural gas from seven to nineteen percent.

Alongside this, the CO2 price, applicable when refuelling and heating, will also increase.

According to energy expert Thomas Engelke from the Federal Consumer Association, these increases will mean that a small single-family household with three or four people that heats with gas would then pay about €240 more per year for gas.

“That’s a lot”, he said. 

Another additional cost factor to consider is that network operators also want to raise prices. However, the federal government plans to allocate €5.5 billion to cushion this increase for consumers as much as possible, so how such cost increases will ultimately affect consumers is currently hard to estimate.

READ ALSO: Why people in Germany are being advised to switch energy suppliers

Overall, it can be said that, from January, consumers will have to brace themselves for higher energy costs, even though massive increases are currently not expected.

Consumer advocate Engelke advised customers to closely examine where potential savings could be made this upcoming winter: “Those who are now signing a new gas or electricity contract should inform themselves and possibly switch. Currently, you can save a few hundred euros. It’s worth it. On the other hand, you should also try to save as much energy as possible this winter.”

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