Waiting for a new knee for a year: trouble about two-class medicine!

Waiting for a new knee for a year: trouble about two-class medicine!

Vöcklabruck, Österreich - A 71-year-old retired worker from Vöcklabruck has been waiting for a new knee joint for over a year. His health situation is not only depressing, but also illustrates the urgent problems of the Austrian health system. Private surgery would be possible faster, but is not sustainable financially for him. This case is symptomatic of the increasing problem of Two-class medicine In Austria: Inside with money rather receive the desired treatments.

Andreas Stangl, President of the Chamber of Labor (AK), criticizes the practice that some doctors offer paid series for treatments. According to Stangl, access to health services should not depend on income. In a health system that many consider to be solidarity, however, the long waiting times lead to private expenses in healthcare. This situation is done by a Inadequate medical care For cash patients: further enhanced inside.

waiting times and access to treatments

The waiting lists in Austria are remarkable: patients have to wait up to three months for an appointment with a health insurance doctor. In contrast, election doctor visits can usually take place within a week, but cost between 150 and 240 euros. This leads to a " Four-Class System " In health care: Ecard patient, election doctor, insider of health services and people with personal contacts with doctors.

Health economist Thomas Czypionka, according to the supply, is relatively low. Nevertheless, it becomes clear that patients with lower financial resources are waiting longer for treatments than privately insured. This inequality is increased by increasing informal payments in Austria, where 11% of the patients report offers to shorten waiting times.

causes and possible solutions

The merger of the health insurance companies into an Austrian health insurance company (ÖGK) brought considerable challenges. Despite the goal of achieving savings of one billion euros, the reform caused additional costs of 214.9 million euros. At the same time, the number of health insurance doctors has stagnated over 8,000 for about a decade, while the population grew by 6%. These grievances are not only due to organizational problems, but also a lack of doctors and nursing staff who lead to station closures and inadequate patient care.

In a healthcare system that is faced with ever increasing challenges, there are suggestions for improvement: uniform tariff design, higher compounds for health insurance doctors and grants for country doctors are some of the measures discussed. In addition, the ÖGK plans to introduce 300 300 primary care centers and 800 additional health insurance doctors to improve the situation. However, it remains to be seen whether these measures are sufficient, in particular considering the lack of personnel and the unattractive conditions for health insurance funds compared to lucrative choice doctor models.