In Bern there is a stack of bills that no one wants to pay. They amount to 1.5 million francs, i.e. over 1.6 million euros, and refer to the care that some cantonal hospitals, including those in Lausanne, Zurich and Sion, provided to 12 Italian young people who were injured on New Year's Eve in the Constellation fire in Crans-Montana. The voluminous file is found on a table in the Conseil féderal, the Swiss government. And before the Swiss Public Radio Television (RTS) released the estimate of the maxi-fee, there were rumors of an imminent decision. But the executive is now involved in a complex replacement of outgoing president Guy Parmelin, who resigned, surprisingly, last week, on the very day a resolution on this matter was expected.
It was he who made the commitment with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to "manage the issue on a bilateral level", in a meeting on 4 May, on the sidelines of a summit of the European Political Community, in Armenia. The injured "regardless of their place of residence, will not have to pay anything for the medical care provided in Swiss hospitals immediately after the catastrophe", the President of the Confederation had assured, after the tone had become heated between Bern and Rome, also on this dossier. The case broke out in April, when some Italian families had received very high healthcare bills, even exceeding 70 thousand euros, for a few hours of hospitalization. This is the case of Umberto Marcucci, Manfredi's father, who was burned in the disco bar. From Sion he was given a bill for almost 72 thousand euros, for just 15 hours of hospitalization in the intensive care unit, before the young man was transported by helicopter to the Niguarda hospital in Milan.
"If I break my leg on a ski slope it is right that the Italian health system reimburses - Marcucci explained to RTS - if, however, I hurt myself in a bar, due to the negligence of someone, and probably someone from the municipality or the canton, then the minimum would be for Switzerland to suspend the request for reimbursement, until the responsibilities are identified". The Prime Minister had defined it as an "ignoble request", announcing that Italy would "reject it to the sender". Even the Foreign Minister, Antonio Tajani, had clarified: "Italy will not pay".
However, the solution promised by President Parmelin was slow in arriving. And, for the Confederation, the costs of the New Year's Eve tragedy are rising day by day. For now, the federal parliament has allocated 37.6 million euros for the victims and the canton of Valais another 2.5 million. Furthermore, the specially created Beloved Foundation has a budget of almost 26 million euros. On Thursday the president, Doris Leuthard, met the Italian families involved in Milan, assuring that she wanted to support "the medical, psychological and physiotherapy support costs, which are not covered by the national health service". For the lawyer Fabrizio Ventimiglia, lawyer for the family of Sofia Donadio, who was also injured in the Constellation, "it cannot be forgotten that a criminal proceeding is underway in Sion in which possible responsibilities of the Swiss public authorities are also being examined, starting with the Municipality of Crans-Montana. If these responsibilities were to be ascertained, it would frankly be difficult to accept that the economic burden of the consequences of this tragedy remains definitively borne by the Italian State".
