Four months after a Novel Year’s Eve bar fire in Crans-Montana killed 41 people, Swiss authorities have sent medical bills to the families of three injured Italians, reigniting a diplomatic row over cost responsibility and bureaucratic sensitivity.
The invoices, ranging from 17,000 to nearly 67,000 euros (approximately 16,500 to 65,000 Swiss francs), arrived as unsolicited emails with detailed cost breakdowns but no explanatory notes. Whereas the documents clearly stated payment was not required, families described the timing and tone as deeply offensive, especially given their ongoing wait for medical records needed for continued treatment in Italy.
Umberto Marcucci, whose son Manfredi remained hospitalized in Milan for three months after the blast, told La Repubblica the bills felt like an insult added to injury: „It was a shock to see this email out of the blue. It contained numbers without any explanation.“ He emphasized that families had been requesting clinical documents for months to support rehabilitation efforts, to no avail.
The Swiss canton of Valais maintains it has no legal flexibility to absorb the costs itself. Government president Mathias Reynard explained to the Italian ambassador in Bern, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, that standard procedure requires hospitals to bill through national insurance clearinghouses, which then negotiate reimbursement between countries.
This process, while legally sound according to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung, has drawn criticism from insiders familiar with the disaster response. They argue the rigid application of administrative protocol fails to match the scale of human suffering involved, particularly when victims were transferred rapidly to specialized burn units in Milan.
Italy’s position centers on reciprocity. Ambassador Cornado pointed out that Italian authorities had already treated two Swiss citizens at Milan’s Niguarda Hospital for weeks and deployed an Aosta Valley rescue helicopter during the initial emergency response. He told Repubblica that accepting unilateral payment would violate a fundamental principle of mutual aid.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni echoed this sentiment on social media, calling the invoices a disgrace and vowing to return any formal demand unpaid. She accused Swiss officials of enabling an inhumane bureaucracy that compounds trauma with financial harassment.
Following a meeting between Cornado and Reynard, the ambassador reassured families that no payments would be expected and no state-level claims would be pursued. Lawyer Domenico Radice, representing several victims, dismissed this as insufficient: „Regardless of who pays, sending these bills was scandalous. The families have endured enough — this crosses a line.“
Why did Swiss hospitals send bills if payment was not expected?
Swiss medical institutions routinely forward treatment costs to national insurance clearinghouses, which handle cross-border reimbursement. The bills were sent as part of standard administrative procedure, not as demands for direct payment from families or the Italian state.
What specific actions has Italy taken in response to the billing?
Italy has refused to cover the costs, citing prior medical care provided to Swiss nationals and emergency rescue contributions. Prime Minister Meloni has instructed the Italian ambassador in Bern to engage Swiss authorities directly and has stated Italy would reject any formal payment request.
