27. November 2019 – The popular initiative “For strong nursing care (nursing care initiative)” is calling for more nursing staff and quality safeguarding in nursing care. The Parliament’s Commission for Social Security and Health intends to suggest an indirect counterproposal to the popular initiative. The counterproposal takes up important demands of the popular initiative. It aims to counter the shortage of nursing staff and to increase the skills of the nursing staff with an educational campaign. For a period of eight years, financial assistance from the federal government as well as the cantons is planned in order to increase the number of nursing educations completed. At its meeting of 27 November 2019, the Federal Council decided to support the counterproposal and the strengthening of nursing education in principle. However, the Federal Council proposes financial support that is 100 million Swiss Francs lower and rejects the idea of nursing staff being able to invoice their services directly to the health insurance companies, as the popular initiative and the counterproposal are demanding. For further information, see: here.