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Fig. 3: “It is patronage contributions that allow this air rescue service to exist in the first place” (Photograph: S. Drolshagen)
costs and managing claims. They now insist that patients stay a week longer in local hospitals so that they can then come home on regular airline flights. Q: Does that mean that Rega will have to mothball its three special air ambulances? Kohler: Not at all. We want our fellow citizens to know that we’ll be able to bring them back home from anywhere in the world around the clock, 365 days a year. In order to fulfil this promise, we need to keep the fleet operational. You might say that it’s a nice luxury that Switzerland can afford thanks to Rega’s patronage programme. You know, I like to compare Rega with the fire brigade, which needs a ladder long enough for the tallest buildings. You just can’t say that you won’t bother having such a long ladder because you only need it every five years. Q: But an air ambulance, which costs some 50 million Swiss francs (editor’s note: currently about €41.6 million), is a lot more expensive. Kohler: That’s true, of course. Q: Altogether, Rega’s liquid and fixed assets now amount to around 470 million Swiss francs (about €391.4 million). So at first glance, it looks like Rega is doing really well. Kohler: Rega is in very good financial shape – at second glance, too! Quite honestly, I’m very grateful that, in Rega, Switzerland has an organisation that’s not struggling financially, is 100% self-financed and doesn’t need a single cent from the state. Not only that: we haven’t increased our patronage fees or the flight-time rates paid by private and public insurance companies since the 1990s. Q: Financially, things look so good that it appears that you could do without any patronage fees for two years. Kohler: If we were to just replace our three air ambulances with more modern aircraft – and that’s something
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we’re going to have deal with in the coming years – then that will take 150 million francs (about €124.9 million) from our investment reserves. In fact, we’ve just invested 100 million francs (about €83.3 million) in new mountain-rescue helicopters, and in a few years we’ll be replacing our helicopters used for flat terrain. That’s going to cost an additional 80 million francs (about €66.6 million). And to be quite honest, the Swiss have got used to having Rega’s services available to them. I mean, we can’t suddenly say tomorrow that we have to tighten our belts and do something like close down our Samedan base and then only serve the Engadin valley from our base over in Untervaz. The public service rendered throughout the country by Rega does run at a major deficit, but there’s no doubt that it saves many lives. Q: So how far in the red is this national public service? Kohler: The three helicopter bases in my home canton of Berne are running an annual deficit of some six million francs (about €4.9 million). On average, a helicopter is in the air 70 minutes each day. The rest of the time is spent waiting on alert so that a person in trouble can be reached within a flight time of just 15 minutes. Air rescue is not a business operation, nor should it be. Q: Why should I become a Rega patron? Kohler: Because it’s important that Rega exists, and it is patronage contributions that allow this air rescue service to exist in the first place. In return, to show our gratitude we waive the costs of a possible rescue when a patron has no insurance coverage. Let’s assume the case of a stay-at-home mum who has an accident while skiing. Although she isn’t gainfully employed, she does have accident insurance through her statutory health insurance plan. However, according to the Swiss Federal Health Insurance Law, only 50 percent of the rescue and transport costs are covered. The same applies for a heart attack. If the Rega mission costs 3,000 francs (about €2,500), then you’ve quickly got a financial gap that’s got to be closed somehow.
We would like to thank Migros magazine for its permission to reprint this interview.