According to a report by the "Standard," the full-body check in Lower Austria will no longer be covered by health insurance starting April 1st. The contractual foundations between the Medical Association and the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) remain unchanged. The Medical Association believes that the examination is not part of the preventive check-up and only counts as a curative service, as reported by the "Kurier."

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Instead of a total of around 40 euros, of which 19 are for the skin examination itself, doctors now want to charge patients privately between 60 and 90 euros, reported the "ZiB2" of ORF on Thursday. However, the ÖGK does not believe that the doctors, as they claim, are not concerned about the money. They warn of public uncertainty and see a unilateral change in procedure. The ÖGK emphasized to the APA that they would immediately contact the Medical Association following the curia decision. "We will not accept this decision," said a spokesperson. If the discussions do not proceed positively, they intend to enter an arbitration process at the state level to resolve this issue. If there is no resolution at this level, the Federal Administrative Court would then come into play. In other federal states, there are already restrictions in this area, such as in Styria, Tyrol, and Vorarlberg. In Upper Austria and Salzburg, according to the ÖGK, there is a separate service position for mole prevention. The contract in Vienna is similar to that in Lower Austria, but it is handled as before, according to the fund. All of this could change with the proposed nationwide general contract. However, this has so far failed due to the financial demands of the doctors' representatives.

(APA/Red)

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