Doctors raise the alarm: ÖGK threatens to make massive performance cuts!

Doctors raise the alarm: ÖGK threatens to make massive performance cuts!

The Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) is faced with a forecast deficit of over 900 million euros this year. This is evident from a report by oe24.at . The causes of this dramatic minus lie in the weakening economy, increasing unemployment and an aging population that causes higher costs as a whole.

In response to these deficit forecasts, Johannes Steinhart, President of the Austrian Medical Association, expressed justified concerns. He emphasizes that the health of the patients is endangered by planned restrictions on treatments. At the same time, he criticizes the lack of solutions for the homemade structure problems within the system that arose in the course of the cash merger. In his view, the proposed solidarity contribution, which is considered by the ÖGK for renovation, could particularly burden young doctors and those who are about to retire.

structural problems and the role of doctors

In the context of the financial needs of the ÖGK, it is also important to note that the doctors' solidarity contribution itself is already considerable. Steinhart emphasizes that doctors already make a solidarity contribution through their personal use, while health care is increasingly restricted, as in the press release of Oots.at emphasized.

The demographic change is a central topic that must not be left unmentioned in the discussion about the ÖGK. According to an article in the WIFO, the need for medical care in Austria will increase significantly by 2050. The age structure of the population will also significantly increase the demand for medical services. This applies to unfavorable medical demography, which means that fewer and fewer doctors are to be available to meet the increasing needs.

The ten-point plan for renovation

To meet the challenges, the Austrian Medical Association has developed a comprehensive ten-point plan for the renovation of the ÖGK. This plan contains crucial measures, such as implementing an external crisis manager and creating a real estate concept. Other points include the review of inefficient ÖGK ambulatories and transparent tender criteria for the top management level.

• Implementation of an external crisis manager
• Creation and implementation of a real estate concept
• Checking the closure inefficient ÖGK ambulatories
• No further outpatient starts up to clarifying the financial situation
• Transparent tender criteria for the top management level
• Transmission of ÖGK-Rehaban facilities to the PVA
• Checking the merger of IT companies in the SV area
• Strengthening the supervision for early detection of undesirable developments
• cassalast for all carriers of the DV
• redesign of the financing, including temporary co-financing from tax funds

The implementation of this plan must be carried out as quickly as possible, since the situation could further exhilarate due to the increasing migration of doctors from the cash register system. The vice chairman of the resident doctors, Dietmar Bayer, emphasizes that around 33 % of doctors will no longer work in the cash register system in the next five years. This development would result in longer waiting times for patients and could endanger the quality of health care, especially in view of the approaching challenges through the aging of the population and the growing demand for health services, as shown in the WIFO report.