Crisis comes to a head

Negotiations between ÖGK and the Styrian Medical Association collapsed

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

Negotiations between the Styrian Medical Association and the ÖGK broke down on Friday. As a result, the care situation could deteriorate further and the crisis in the healthcare system is coming to a head.

How much money do Styrian doctors receive from the health insurance fund for their services? Every year, this question is debated anew in the fee negotiations between the Medical Association and ÖGK.

"Insufficient financial resources"
However, the negotiators still owe Styrian patients an answer for the time being, as they parted ways on Friday without reaching an agreement, as Dieter Bayer, chairman of the curia of registered doctors, announced on Friday via a Facebook post: "We have not received a substantial tariff offer. No sufficient financial resources that would mean an improvement in care for the people of Styria have been established. So there are no measures, not even to relieve the burden on hospitals. Keyword waiting time reduction. And there are also no measures possible at the structural level to make health insurance medicine more attractive."

This means that the supply crisis in Styria is becoming even more acute, as the effects are far-reaching, according to Bayer: "We expect that some statutory health insurance doctors who are already close to retirement age may hand in their contracts early. This means that the supply situation will deteriorate in Styria. We used to have 1,000 SHI-accredited doctors, now we have around 920 SHI-accredited doctors with a growing population. In addition, as we have seen, the hospitals are imploding: Care services can no longer be provided in the hospital outpatient department and are crumbling in the private practice areas - and there will simply be no financial resources for this. That means it won't happen."

The Medical Association now wants to discuss the next steps in the committees. There is to be a new negotiation date in January.