In order to make possible an Austria-wide overall contract for doctors with the Austrian Health Insurance Fund, SPÖ State Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Ulrike Königsberger-Ludwig, can imagine disempowering the provincial medical associations. She takes the corresponding recommendations of the Court of Audit “very seriously,” but also does not want to preempt the negotiations, she said in the Ö1 Journal on Thursday. The ÖGK is pushing for a rapid resumption of negotiations.
“We want to discuss all common challenges in the outpatient sector constructively and solution-oriented,” say ÖGK Chairman Andreas Huss and Deputy Chairman Peter McDonald in a release. For the upcoming talks, they have submitted concrete date proposals to the Medical Association. The goal is to present a nationwide remuneration model with uniform tariffs by mid-2026. Another central concern is to develop possibilities to curb follow-up costs – without cutting necessary services, but in order to shorten waiting times for necessary services. The focus should be on avoiding unnecessary services as well as exploiting existing potentials. This would also create more leeway for fee adjustments, it was emphasized.
State Secretary is a Court of Audit fan
It is an “untenable condition” and “no longer acceptable” that health insurance benefits vary depending on the federal state. For example, mole checks must be paid privately in some states, but not in others. Therefore, it is important to implement the overall contract for doctors, which is also stipulated in the government program.
In a draft report of the Court of Audit, reported on by Ö1 and “profil” on Wednesday, the Court recommends disempowering the provincial medical associations. They should no longer have to agree to the uniform regulations. “I am a big fan of Court of Audit reports, because I am convinced that they give an objective view of many things and of administration in Austria,” said the State Secretary, welcoming the support.
The Medical Association could not relate to the accusation. Already in 2020, a comprehensive uniform service catalog was drawn up and submitted to the ÖGK, said President Johannes Steinhart on Wednesday. The ÖGK, in turn, saw the problem in the fee expectations of some provincial medical associations. If the overall contract continues to fail because of this, “then we must also discuss in this direction,” said Königsberger-Ludwig. “This (the disempowerment, note) can be at the end of the negotiations,” but she does not want to preempt them.
Greens see themselves confirmed, Blues criticize government
The Greens saw in the draft report a confirmation of their own demands. “The Austrian health system finally needs the nationwide uniform fee schedule for medical services. Equal services must be remunerated equally everywhere in the country, and patients must receive the same care as an insurance benefit regardless of their place of residence,” emphasized health spokesperson Ralph Schallmeiner in a release. If the approval of all provincial medical associations blocks implementation, the federal government must adjust the framework conditions, he spoke out in favor of disempowerment. This should already have been implemented in the last legislative period, but failed due to the ÖVP, emphasized former Health Minister Johannes Rauch in the Ö1 Morning Journal.
For the Freedom Party, the report represents “not a reprimand, but a resounding slap in the face for the health policy of recent years.” “What the Court of Audit is now showing very clearly is the result of the total failure of the system parties. Instead of consistently completing the bold health insurance reform begun by us Freedom Party members, the ÖVP, Greens, and now the loser coalition of ÖVP, SPÖ, and NEOS have left behind a chaos that harms patients and devours vast amounts of taxpayers’ money,” said health spokesperson Gerhard Kaniak.
