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Vienna fights with guest patients: 610 million euros in additional costs 2024!
Vienna plans separate waiting lists for patients to cope with budget problems and increasing waiting times.
Vienna fights with guest patients: 610 million euros in additional costs 2024!
The discussion about healthcare in Vienna is increasingly conducted by the city government. Mayor Michael Ludwig and Health City Councilor Peter Hacker (both SPÖ) vehemently campaign for the introduction of separate waiting lists for patients from Vienna and other federal states. This measure is intended to help reduce the increasing pressure on the Viennese hospitals, especially since Vienna treats more than 40 percent of all guest patients in Austria, 80 percent of whom come from Lower Austria and 12 percent from Burgenland. The goal: faster treatment times for Viennese patients.
A central problem is the announced budget minus of 610 million euros, which Vienna has to do in 2024. These are additional costs that arise in addition to the financial equalization payments for guest patients. The pressure on the Vienna city government is increasing, especially after the framework conditions for reducing guest patients in the hospitals have become even stricter this year. According to information that the The standard Provided that the Vienna city government decided three years ago to significantly reduce the proportion of guest patients in order to increase the quality of care for Viennese patients.
Waiting times and a shortage of skilled workers
The consequences of this policy cannot be overlooked. Waiting times for important operations rise in Vienna, which increases the concerns of patients. For example, a patient had to wait a whole year for a brain aneurysm surgery and experienced several shifts of the appointment. This highlights the difficulties that the city currently has due to a shortage of skilled workers in nursing. The city must have a good hand to find short -term solutions for these needs.
The worries are not only limited locally. The press reports that similar challenges also occur in other federal states such as Salzburg. As a result, close cooperation between Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland is required to find a comprehensive solution. Ludwig therefore proposes a "care region East" that could overturn the federal state borders in inpatient care. Such a model could not only act for the region, but also as a model for all of Austria.
Legal challenges and future prospects
Nevertheless, there are legal concerns: Lawyers make it clear that discrimination against patients is not permitted due to their place of residence. This means that the city government must make sure that the implementation of its plans does not meet legal hurdles. At the same time, the request for the current developments in the health system will be loud, since a joint financing and organizational approach between the federal states involved could also end the disputes about resources and money.
Finally, it can be stated that the federal structure of the Austrian health system makes efficient cooperation difficult. Pandemic has shown that closer forms of cooperation are possible, but it remains to be seen how the city of Vienna deals with these challenges. The willingness to reform and a future -oriented approach are required so that patients can benefit from improved health care not only in the east, but across the country.