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QUALITY OF LIFE

Where in Austria can people expect to live the longest?

Men and women living in Austria can expect to live to a ripe old age but in certain parts of the country residents are more likely to live for longer.

Published: 10 November 2023 16:03 CET
Where in Austria can people expect to live the longest?
Austria's alpine regions have the highest life expectancy in the country. Photo by Matt Bennett on Unsplash

According to Eurostat’s latest numbers, the average person in Austria could look forward to living for 81.3 years – just a little bit above the EU’s average of 80.1 years – when measurements were last taken in 2021.

In general, women can expect to live about 5.7 years longer than men – which helps pull the overall Austrian average up. In fact, men on average live to be over 80 in only two of Austria’s nine regions.

READ ALSO: Five reasons to retire in Austria

Alpine air does the body good

Those two regions are Tyrol and Vorarlberg – renowned for their fresh mountain air and landscapes that promote an outdoorsy lifestyle.

Men living there are predicted to live to 80.6 and 80.2 years of age, respectively.

According to the numbers, women similarly live the longest in Tirol and Vorarlberg – at 85 and 85.2 years, accordingly.

Salzburg though, saw pretty average performance in life expectancy for both men and women – with forecasts of 79.2 and 84.6 years. That varied little from Burgenland, Carinthia, Lower Austria, Styria, or Upper Austria – where expected lifespans ranged from 78.4 to 79.3 years for men across those states and 83 to 84.2 years for women.

The bustling capital city of Vienna – even with its regular spot atop international Quality of Life rankings – has the lowest expected lifespan in the country. Men in the capital are forecast to live to be 77.7 years of age and women 82.4.

EXPLAINED: Everything you need to know about retiring in Austria

Alpine republic in middle of European pack

In the German-speaking DACH countries, Austria comes just ahead of Germany’s 80.8 years but well behind Switzerland’s 83.9 years.

France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Malta, and the Nordics all come ahead of Austria in life expectancy. Switzerland wins the country ranking, but the region with the highest life expectancy is the Spanish capital of Madrid – at 85.4 years.

Lower life expectancies tend to be found further east, with Bulgaria’s coast having average life expectancies of only around 70 years of age.

READ ALSO: How Austria plans to raise the retirement age for women

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HEALTH

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

In recent years, the number of public doctors in Vienna has fallen. As a result, many people have turned to private care. But how much can you expect to pay?

Published: 21 May 2024 10:38 CEST
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?

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