Citizens' Assembly meets for final debate in the Federal Palace
This weekend, the Citizens' Assembly is debating proposals for health promotion and prevention reforms at the Federal Palace – ranging from a national health law and a ban on advertising unhealthy products to improving the population's health literacy.
Press release
Bern, March 28, 2025. This weekend, the Citizens' Assembly is debating reform proposals for health promotion and prevention in the Federal Palace – from a national health law to advertising bans on unhealthy products and strengthening the population's health literacy. The participants, who were selected by lot, will vote on a total of 10 reform proposals and adopt their final report.
For several months, the participants have been working intensively on the question of how health promotion and prevention can be strengthened in Switzerland. During the kick-off weekend, they were introduced to the topic and exchanged ideas with experts from science and practice. In several online meetings, they deepened their knowledge and discussed reform proposals. During the discussion weekend, they debated these proposals with stakeholders from politics and the health care system and weighed the pros and cons together.
Now the Citizens' Assembly is coming together for the last time in Bern to debate the reform proposals one last time and vote on them. The result of the vote will show which reform proposals an informed cross-section of the population supports in order to strengthen health promotion and prevention in Switzerland.
Reception by President of the National Council
President of the National Council Maja Riniker will welcome the participants to the Federal Palace on Saturday morning. “The Citizens' Assembly shows how enriching the exchange between citizens from different backgrounds can be. Such debates strengthen understanding of complex issues and promote social dialogue – an important basis for our democracy,” said Riniker.
Debates and votes
On Saturday, the participants will debate the individual reform proposals one last time in the National Council chamber. The final vote will take place on Sunday, after which the final report will be adopted. In the afternoon, Anne Lévy, Director of the Federal Office of Public Health, will also address the participants.
Vincenz Bischof, a participant from Bern, emphasized the importance of this work: “It was incredibly exciting to discuss with so many different people. We hope that our proposals will be heard. There is great potential, particularly in the area of health promotion and prevention, to strengthen health care in a targeted way.”
The approved reform proposals will be presented at a media conference in mid-April. The final report will be handed over to Federal Councillor Elisabeth Baume-Schneider in Bern on May 20. At the closing event, the results will also be discussed and categorized with representatives of the political support group.