Bureaucratic Chaos

Health Insurance Fund Suspects a Wasp

Of course, the victim had to fill out and send in the questionnaire.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/stock.adobe.com, zVg.)

In the land of bureaucracy, a simple insect sting turns into an administrative hassle: Even in cases like this, the ÖGK first looks for someone to blame.

It was supposed to be a lovely summer evening for “Krone” culture editor Stefan Weinberger. But then things took a turn: A wasp was hiding in the foam of his beer—and it stung him right on the tongue: “After just a few minutes, I could barely speak—everything was so swollen,” said Weinberger, who immediately dialed 1450, the health hotline.

They immediately alerted emergency services. After receiving first aid in the ambulance, he was rushed with flashing lights to the General Hospital (AKH) in Vienna. After a cortisone infusion, the danger was quickly averted—but four days later came the surprise.

ÖGK Seeks Information on Third-Party Liability
Then a letter landed in his inbox. Sender: the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK). The fund wants to clarify whether third-party negligence was a factor in the incident.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/zVg)

“Which is, of course, completely absurd—after all, it was just a wasp sting,” said Weinberger. And as strange as it sounds: “If hospital treatment is reported with a diagnosis where third-party liability is a possibility, an incident report form is automatically sent out,” the ÖGK stated in response to a query from “Krone.”

So the process was: fill it out, send it in, and wait. Bureaucratic red tape for a case whose “perpetrator” has long since flown away. The question remains: Will the ÖGK now send the bill to the wasp?