Study: Fee for non-urgent treatment in emergency room ‘makes little sense’

The proposal to charge 50 francs for visits to emergency rooms for minor problems, still in the parliament, is based on the premise that far too many people ‘clog up’ ERs with non-serious issues. 

However, a new study by Helsana health insurance came to a different conclusion: its billing data shows that even though the number of emergency consultations has increased significantly in recent years, ‘trivial’ cases have actually decreased steadily, from 10 percent in 2014 to just 7 percent in 2023. 

Since the number of these minor cases is significantly lower than expected, “the parliamentary initiative to introduce a 50-franc fee makes little sense and will simply cause more administrative work,” Helsana found.

ETH expects a boom in foreign students despite higher tuition fees

From 2025, the Federal Polytechnic Institute in Zurich  (ETH), along with its sister school, EPFL, in Lausanne, will triple the tuition fee for international students.

The new regulation currently affects around 6,000 Bachelor’s and Master’s students — around 28 percent of all ETH students.

However, the school doesn’t expect higher fees to keep new students from enrolling in a prestigious university.

According to its management, the ETH is enjoying increasing popularity abroad, especially among Chinese students: five years ago, 851 people from China studied at the university,  but last year that number jumped to 1,362 – an increase of 60 percent — a trend that is expected to continue.

Basel’s Eurovision could be challenged at the polls

Federal Democratic Union is launching a referendum against Basel hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in 2025.

The small conservative Christian party has until October 26th to collect at least 2,000 valid signatures in order to bring the issue to the ballot box on November 24th.

If this does happen and voters accept, the Eurovision would have to be held in another Swiss city.

READ ALSO: Swiss city of Basel picked to host Eurovision 2025

Tobacco advertising to be banned in print media

While the National Council refused to implement the initiative in February, the Council of States maintained its position in favour of the ban on Monday.

In 2022, 56.6 percent of Swiss voters accepted the “Children and young people without tobacco advertising” initiative, which calls for “all forms of tobacco advertising accessible to children to be prohibited”.

The Federal Council’s revision of the law targets the print media and public events open to young people.

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