Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

HEALTH

Coronavirus cases in Austria are ‘twice the reported numbers’

Austria is estimated to have at least twice as many new coronavirus infections than officially reported, a study showed Friday, with more than three per 1,000 people thought to have caught the virus in early April.

Published: 10 April 2020 14:43 CEST

Coronavirus cases in Austria are 'twice the reported numbers'

AFP

The SORA institute-led study found that 0.32 percent of those surveyed in the first week of April tested positive for the new coronavirus.

SORA said it was the first such study in the EU to better understand the virus's prevalence.

The result means some 28,500 of Austria's close to nine million people were likely affected, the institute said, compared to the official statistic of up to 12,200 coronavirus infections for that April week.

SORA said taking into account deviations, between 10,200 and 67,400 people in total could have been affected. The study surveyed 1,544 people.

“There has been the assumption that more people are infected than those officially tested… It's along the lines of other findings so far,” SORA founder Christoph Hofinger told AFP.

The Alpine nation adopted strict confinement measures in the middle of March, ordering people to largely stay at home, only allowing food shops and pharmacies to stay open and restricting people from entering the country.

As the increase in the number of new infections has flattened out, the government says smaller shops and gardening and hardware stores can re-open next week, as a first step in a gradual loosening of measures.

On Friday, Austria reported some 13,400 coronavirus infections with 319 deaths.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

How much can you expect to pay for private healthcare in Vienna?

In Austria, private healthcare works alongside the public healthcare system. If you want private care, you typically need to sign up for private healthcare insurance or pay out of pocket initially and later seek reimbursement.

The cost of private healthcare in Vienna can vary depending on factors such as the type of treatment, the provider, and insurance coverage. In general, private healthcare services tend to be significantly more expensive than the services provided by the public system.

Private healthcare insurance

The monthly cost for private healthcare insurance in Vienna averages around €30 for children and between €45 and €100 for adults.

The cost is determined by your age, health status, and anticipated healthcare needs. When you apply for private insurance, your health and medical history are usually examined.

Signing up for private healthcare insurance at an early age often means lower costs. Existing health insurance contracts are adjusted annually for inflation only, without further adjustments.

UNIQA, Wiener Städtische, Generali Health Insurance, Mercury, Allianz Health Insurance, and the Danube are among the largest and best-known providers of private healthcare insurance in Vienna.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: What is a Wahlartzt in Austria?

How does it work?

Every policy is different, but most private insurance work with the public companies, especially since most workers in Austria are insured with one of the public companies via their work or employment – with the majority of them insured by ÖGK.

When you go to an elective doctor in Austria, you will pay out of pocket for your appointment. Later, you’ll need to ask for reimbursement from your compulsory public insurance company. Once you receive confirmation of the reimbursement, you’ll send all documents (including doctor fees and the public reimbursement) to your private insurance, which will pay the difference between what you paid at the doctor and what you got back from your public insurance.

This is typically done online and could even be partially automated, with doctors sending their fees and payment notes directly to public insurance.

Pay out-of-pocket

If you do not want to sign up for private healthcare insurance, you can stay with your public one, pay out of pocket if you need private services, and later receive a partial reimbursement.

In general, a visit to a private practitioner costs between €80 and €120, and a visit to a specialist (orthopaedist, dermatologist, cardiologist) between €150 and €200 in the Austrian capital.

The amount of money you can get back if you go to a private doctor varies depending on several factors, including your health insurance company and the specific services provided by the doctor.

For example, with the most common public insurance, Österreichische Gesundheitskasse, ÖGK, around 80 percent of the amount that ÖGK would have spent if the doctor was linked to the public system is reimbursed. It is important to note that this does not correspond to 80 percent of your medical bill but to 80 percent of what ÖGK would have paid for your treatment at a public doctor, which is significantly lower than the amount listed on your bill.

Fewer public doctors in Vienna

In Vienna, there has recently been a decrease in the number of public doctors and an increase in the number of private ones.

Experts believe the reasons are stressful working conditions and limited numbers of contracts for doctors with public healthcare insurance. Public doctors are said not to take enough time for each patient, as the number of patients determines the profit.

Over the past six years, the increase in private doctors has been particularly notable for doctors specialising in dermatology (rising from 58 percent to 71 percent) and urology (increasing from 55 percent to 62 percent).

READ NEXT: Healthcare in Austria: Why are there fewer ‘public’ doctors?

Url copied to clipboard!