Healthcare in Austria

• 2.1 Health Insurance Contributions
• 2.2 Deductibles
• 2.3 Outpatient care
• 2.4 Hospitals

• 3.1 Austria
• 3.2 International comparison

Legal foundations

Hospitals ( intramural area)

For Hospital Affairs is responsible for the basic legislation the federal government. The implementing legislation and execution are matters of the country.

Agreements between federal and state governments pursue, besides securing the financing requirement and the target, across Austria ensure an equivalent level of health care with high quality. Agreed upon is also one on the borders beyond voting. A structural fund is set up at the federal level. This is headed by a Commission composed of representatives of the persons involved in the hospital sector agencies (federal, state, social security, cities and municipalities, Bishops' Conference, Church Oberkirchenrat Medical Association, patients and Law Societies ). The Structure Commission define and develop the foundations for the hospital financing system.

The countries are obliged to adopt a hospital plan that includes health guidelines for the fund hospitals in the framework of the Austrian Structural Plan.

Extramural area

The extramural area is mostly federal legislation ( eg, physicians Act, psychologists Law, General Social Insurance Act ). Great practical legal significance have next to regulations of the respective ministries, the so-called rules of the Main Association of Austrian Social Security Institutions and the statutes and regulations of the health social insurance institutions.

In the course of § 15a- agreement for the years 2008-2013 so-called regional structure plans have been (one RSG per state ) provided health which both the intra-and the extramural area should include. Responsible for the resolution on this RSG is the respective national health platform in the state.

Insurance

In Austria, there is a compulsory insurance for all wage and salary earners, a choice of insurer is not possible. The competent institution depends on the place of employment or employer.

For self-employed workers is also the insurance. Depending on the Chamber membership a choice of insurance carrier may be possible ( compulsory insurance ).

The inception of the policy is carried out for jobholders by the inclusion of employment, the employer is responsible, regardless of the origin of the insurance, the corresponding reporting obligation to the relevant statutory health insurance carrier. When the trader insurance created by the Log of the trade. Unemployed and welfare recipients are automatically insured. Family members as non-working spouse and children are covered.

The inclusion of various economic activities, it may be a multiple insurance. The amount of insurance contributions for the year is capped by the maximum contribution base. Any additional contributions must be actively reclaimed at the multiple insurance from the policyholder.

Financing

The financing of the health system is for the extramural area mainly through health insurance premiums and deductibles, most recently, increasingly, by control means. The intramural area is primarily financed by countries and social security.

Health insurance contributions

For salaried workers health insurance contribution consists of an employee and an employer share. The employee's share is deducted directly from the salary and charged by the employer with social security.

For professional in the health insurance contribution is determined by the Social Insurance Authority for Business (SVA ).

Deductibles

Deductibles exist in various forms:

• Deductibles for medicines ( prescription charge )
• Deductibles for medical aids
• Deductibles for doctor visits in individual social security institutions ( Insurance Institution for Public Service (BVA ), Social Insurance Institution of farmers (SCC), Insurance Institute for railways and mining ( VAEB ) )
• Deductibles for inpatient treatment in hospitals
• E-card fee (for most vehicles )
• Previously: Krankenschein fee ( abolished with the introduction of e-card )
• Previously: Ambulance fee ( provided due to lack of public and general political acceptance first with numerous exceptions and then abolished in part due to large administrative costs after a short time )

Outpatient care

• Average density of physicians

On average 213 people per a professional practicing physician. Comparing the last 10 years there has been an increase of 26.3 %.

• Costs in this area

For ambulatory health care households and their insurance companies have spent about 2 billion euros in 2004. Between 1997 and 2004 these expenditures have risen by an average of 3.3%.

• Not included: occupational health care

Hospitals

For public general hospitals, special public hospitals and private non-profit general hospitals, there is a public funding (2002: approximately 150 public hospitals for 72 % of the total Austrian hospital beds and 85% of inpatients treated patients ).

Since 1997, the system of performance -oriented hospital financing is applied. It consists of two levels of funding.

1 The core area. Here is federally per -patient stay awarded a number of points which is composed of the performance component (depending on the diagnosis) and the day component ( length of stay, duration of intensive care).

2 The range of control. Here can be country-specific supply received on the behalf of the hospitals.

The management at the country level funds to finance the fund hospitals receive their contributions from the following:

The funds shall be financed by a share of the revenue to the tax and other federal subsidies.

The Private Hospitals Financing Fund is the clearing house for the services of private hospitals for which there is an obligation to pay social insurance.

Statistics

Austria

International comparison

The table with the percentage of GDP (gross domestic product) (left side) has been greatly reduced and contains only selected countries. Among the compared by the OECD countries Austria occupies the 7th place. In 2003, Austria still took the 21st place with a with a cost share of GDP of 7.6%. Cause of this "rise" but was not a corresponding increase in costs. This statistic is thus to enjoy accordingly with caution.

Opposite, the ranking of health systems (WHO 2000). Evaluation criteria: among other things, disability-free life expectancy, need orientation, cost, fairness in financing, responsiveness to the expectations of the public and patients. The ranking is not without controversy.