Suche
Mein Konto
ÖGK in crisis: billion-dollar deficit threatened by 2029!
The ÖGK expects massive deficits by 2029. Peter McDonald calls for measures to ensure financial stability and sustainable healthcare.
ÖGK in crisis: billion-dollar deficit threatened by 2029!
The Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) is facing significant financial challenges. According to current forecasts, a deficit of 459.6 million euros is expected for 2026 and even 797.7 million euros for 2029. The current deficit of the ÖGK is already 546.6 million euros, while the total deficit of the health insurance companies amounts to 583.3 million euros, as exxpress.at reports.
The balance sheet forecast for 2025 is particularly worrying. A total balance sheet loss of 591 million euros is expected, which corresponds to a deviation from the targeted “black zero”. Peter McDonald, chairman of the umbrella organization of social insurance providers, is calling for urgent measures to stabilize the financial situation. In his opinion, uniform funding and a greater focus on evidence-based medical examinations should be sought.
Demographic challenges and increasing costs
The demographic development in Austria is making the situation even worse. The number of people over 65 is expected to increase from 1.8 million to 2.7 million, resulting in greater demand for medical services. At the same time, the number of people liable to pay contributions is decreasing and the number of hours worked is decreasing, which reduces the ÖGK's income. In addition, medical progress is causing costs to increase due to new, often expensive treatment methods, which is identified as another major problem.
The ÖGK is recording a record increase in doctor visits, which can be attributed to a massive shift in care to the office-based sector. In 2022, expenses in the contract doctor sector rose by 8.3 percent. While the number of MR examinations in hospitals fell by 17 percent, this number rose by an impressive 68 percent for general practitioners. New openings of primary care units with extended opening hours are intended to help relieve the burden on hospitals, but treatment costs are continually rising.
A necessary package of measures
In order to master the financial challenges, the ÖGK is developing a package of measures to contain costs. The ÖGK's total budget for 2025 is 21 billion euros, which corresponds to a deficit of 4.29 percent. An important demand is an additional financial contribution from the federal government in order to support and expand the health systems in the long term. McDonald emphasizes that not only is financial compensation urgently needed, but there is also increasing pressure to respond to the needs of the population.
As part of these discussions, incentive models for greater patient responsibility and a medically necessary referral practice are also called for. This could potentially help reduce the financial burden on healthcare and improve the quality of care.