Top Salaries Also in the Medical Association: 26,000 Euros Monthly for Official in Upper Austria

Following the discussion about earnings in the Chamber of Commerce, there is now criticism of those in the Medical Association. The "Falter" lists the earnings of Harald Mayer in its current issue. He is Vice President of the State Chamber, Chairman of the Curia of Employed Doctors in Upper Austria, as well as Chairman of the Federal Curia. At the State Hospital Schärding, he is reportedly on leave as a trauma surgeon. According to "Falter" calculations, he receives a total of at least 26,000 euros per month for this.

By Taxi from Schärding to Vienna

Specifically, his activity in the State Chamber is compensated with around 7,000 euros, according to the newspaper, citing internal documents they were able to review. For work in the Federal Chamber, there is an additional 7,500 euros and for each visit to Vienna, a travel expense reimbursement of around 500 euros plus the costs for hotel and travel.

From Schärding to Vienna, Mayer travels - often twice a week - not by train, but by taxi, the bills would prove according to the article. At the hospital, the representative of the ÖVP-affiliated Medical Association faction "Pro Medico - Association of Austrian Doctors" earns another approximately 12,000 euros.

Personnel Costs Increased by a Third

The Medical Association of Upper Austria counts 59 employees and represents around 8,500 insurance, private, and hospital doctors who pay mandatory contributions. A Court of Audit report from 2024 criticizes that "bonuses for fulfilling normal service duties" are paid and that personnel costs increased by nearly 30 percent from 2017 to 2022. In 2023, they increased by 7.15 percent and in 2024 by 9.15 percent according to "Falter", this year they are expected to be 3.5 percent.

Medical Association Remains Silent

The Medical Association of Upper Austria did not want to confirm the figures to the Falter. "I do not know the amounts," a press spokesperson is quoted as saying. The APA was also not confirmed the amount of the payments, they said nothing about it upon request. Whether it is customary to pay for multi-hour taxi rides also remained unanswered, as did how high the recent increases in personnel costs were.

However, it was emphasized that the payments officially called "functional fees" are only paid twelve times a year and not 14 times, and are viewable in the members' area of the homepage - that is, for the doctors. They also largely implement the recommendations of the Court of Audit.

Sharp Criticism from Greens and Neos

For the Green health spokesperson Ralph Schallmeiner, the case clearly shows that "the regional chambers in their current form are outdated. They are expensive, opaque, and far from modern good governance standards." Here, "valuable resources are tied up that should instead flow into care, quality, and patient safety," he demanded, among other things, "a reform that makes the chamber landscape leaner, more efficient, and future-proof."

For the Upper Austrian Neos spokesperson Felix Eypeltauer, it is "irresponsible" that "the chambers throw around the money of their compulsory members as if there were no tomorrow." This damages the credibility of the entire representation of interests. It cannot be that compulsory contributions are collected while a small bubble of officials dives into a self-service mentality, he said, addressing both the economic, workers', and medical chambers.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.