The Professional Association of Austrian Internists (BÖI) sees “no trace of the often promised harmonization of services” after the merger of the regional health insurance funds into the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK). However, the health insurance reform promised an improvement in supply, it said in a broadcast. Meanwhile, employee representatives and the SPÖ are angry about the ÖGK’s failed increase in subsidies for medical aids by three percent.
“Even two and a half years after the merger of the regional health insurance funds, the ÖGK has not succeeded in eliminating one of the greatest injustices in our social system: In different federal states, those insured with one and the same health insurance fund receive the same medical services from the fund or not,” complained BÖI- President Bonni Syeda.
For example, computed tomography of the coronary vessels in Lower Austria is covered by health insurance for ÖGK patients, but not in Vienna. On the other hand, the twilight sleep during the colonoscopy is paid for in Vienna, but not in Lower Austria.
The elimination of the inequality in insurance benefits across all compulsory insurances has also not been implemented.
More details on RH crude report
The news magazine “profil” published further details from the Court of Auditors’ rough report on the ÖGK: Among other things, consultants committed to the merger charged high prices for some simple administrative work. “Some of the employees of the consulting firm performed primarily administrative activities, e.g. B. Coordinating appointments and taking minutes.”
“Further activities included seminar catering, support when ordering crockery and exchanging door signs.” Hourly rates of 67 to 93 euros were charged for this. A price comparison was therefore not obtained when the order was placed for the ÖGK consultant contract, which is worth almost eleven million euros.