After OECD Report: Schumann Announces Health Reforms

A recent OECD report on healthcare reform trends in the EU prompted Health Minister Korinna Schumann and State Secretary Ulrike Königsberger-Ludwig (both SPÖ) on Thursday to promise improvements in care. As "Health at a Glance" in November already indicated, the current report also shows that the domestic system provides good care but has long waiting times and high private costs.

The "Country Health Profile Austria 2025" from the OECD reveals that Austria has the second-highest per capita health expenditure in the EU at 4,901 euros (as of 2023), of which only 76.6 percent is covered by the public sector, compared to 80 percent EU-wide. Private supplementary insurance accounts for 7 percent of the expenses. The OECD sees cause for concern here regarding a two-tier healthcare system if patients have to choose between long waiting times or higher out-of-pocket costs for faster treatment.

Warning of a Two-Tier Healthcare System

Schumann interpreted the report as a diagnosis of the state of the healthcare system as the government took over in March. However, she stated in a written communication that they do not want to accept this. Königsberger-Ludwig committed to further developing the system, for example through more digitization and the expansion of prevention. Both recalled the Health Reform Partnership, in which the federal government, states, and social insurance are to develop structural reforms. They did not address the question of whether the responsibility for hospitals should be centralized to the federal government, as has been repeatedly demanded recently.

However, the reform group established for emergency care and the Health Reform Fund, which will come into effect in January 2026 and be endowed with around 500 million euros annually, were mentioned. Reference was also made to the upcoming obligation for outpatient diagnosis coding, the digital parent-child pass, the extension of the ELGA storage period from ten to 30 years, and the expansion of the hotline 1450.

(APA/Red)

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