"Breach of trust"

Dentists and ÖGK negotiate amalgam replacement

Following the ban on amalgam as a dental filling material, which came into force at the beginning of the year, the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) and the Austrian Dental Association (ZÄK) were due to meet again on Thursday to agree on a health insurance-financed replacement for the approximately 7.6 million people insured. The meeting was canceled at short notice.

There is still no agreement between the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) and the Austrian Dental Association (ÖZÄK) on a health insurance-financed replacement for amalgam as a dental filling material. The chamber canceled the round of negotiations on Thursday just before the start of talks. Due to "negative press work" by the ÖGK and a protest action in front of the chamber, it considers this to be a "breach of trust". The health insurance company was "extremely surprised".

ÖGK is promoting the relatively new white material Alkasit, which has been tested in health insurance outpatient clinics, and would have been prepared to pay 20 percent more than before for amalgam-free and therefore mercury-free fillings. However, the Dental Association only wanted to accept the technically inferior glass ionomer cement or other cements as free of charge for patients; the doctors wanted to have everything else paid for privately.

Changes demanded in the overall contract
The ZÄK also demanded significant changes to the overall contract and the fee schedule. The ÖGK accused the doctors of refusing to negotiate and offered dentists - with moderate success - individual contracts bypassing the chamber.

At the end of December, the dentists' representatives reached a solution with the Insurance Institution for Public Employees, Railways and Mining (BVAEB) - the materials glass ionomer cement and Alkasit were covered by health insurance. The ÖGK saw this as a positive signal.