Italy PM Meloni slams Swiss hospital's hefty bills for NYE ​​bar fire burns victims, seeks clarification

Italy Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday (April 21) strongly criticised reports that families of young victims in a New Year’s Eve fire in Crans-Montana were sent hospital invoices amounting to tens of thousands of euros, calling the situation “inhumane” and demanding urgent clarification from Swiss authorities.

In a post on X, Meloni said she was “shocked” by the reports, which included claims that a hospital in Sion had billed more than €70,000 for just a few hours of treatment.

“An insult on top of a mockery, something that only an inhumane bureaucracy could produce,” she wrote, expressing outrage at the scale of the charges.

“I spoke with our Ambassador: the Swiss authorities have assured us that it was a mistake, and that the families will not have to pay anything,” she said.

Despite the assurance, Meloni stressed that Italy would continue to closely monitor the situation to ensure no financial burden falls on the victims or the Italian state.

The incident has raised broader concerns about medical billing practices in cross-border emergencies and the treatment of foreign nationals in crisis situations.

“The Italian Government renews its solidarity to the young people who were involved and to their families,” she said, adding that Rome would “do everything necessary to shed light on the tragedy and establish responsibilities.”