Description of the public healthcare in Austria
What
Public healthcare is a healthcare provided by the state. To have access to public healthcare you need to have compulsory health insurance. Individuals become automatically insured when employed, self-employed, receiving unemployment benefits or are on pensions. Depandant family members are insured via insured parents or partners.
Citizens from EU countries are normally covered free of charge, as long as they’re covered by national insurances in their countries of origin and are holders of European health card.
Third-country citizens are not eligible to hold the European health card and need to obtain an additional insurance to be covered in Austria.
The public hospitals accept private insurance policies too.
Good to know
The employer must be informed of planned co-insurance of family members and you need to inform the state medical insurance.
Austria’s healthcare system is decentralized meaning that each of the provinces and the federal government have legal limitation and roles in their healthcare system.
The hospitals must contact an interpreter in case the patient doesn’t speak German. The costs of the interpreter will be covered by your insurance if you have one.
More info of Austrian health care system (in English): www.bmgf.gv.at/cms/home/attachments/3/4/4/CH1066/CMS1291414949078/austrian_health_care_key_facts_2013.pdf.
The public health internet portal (in German) www.gesundheit.gv.at offers reliable and independent health care information.
Where
Here you can find contact information on:
- Austrian hospitals and emergency rooms (in German): spitalskompass.at,
- General doctors and specialists (in German): aerztekammer.at
- Dentists (in German): zahnaerztekammer.at/patientinnen/zahnarztsuche/
- Rehabilitations centres (in German): goeg.at/Rehazentren/Listenansicht
Here you can information about state medical insurance (Gebietskrankenkasse) (in German): www.sozialversicherung.at/portal27/esvportal/content?contentid=10007.683713&viewmode=content.