SHARE
COPY LINK

HEALTH

Coronavirus: How Austria plans to avoid a second lockdown

Researchers in Austria said education rather than harsher bans would be most effective in preventing a second wave of the coronavirus - and a second lockdown.

Coronavirus: How Austria plans to avoid a second lockdown
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz with Bavarian leader Markus Söder. Photo: Sven Hoppe / POOL / AFP

In preventing a second lockdown in Austria, a new Policy Brief has shown that “education, transparency and recommendations” rather than “threats and bans” would be most important. 

The report showed that the virus was most likely to be transmitted at small gatherings and that the Austrian public should be informed of this so that they can make adjustments to their behaviour. 

The authors however noted that the core message of maintaining hygiene while testing and tracing represented the basis of the battle against the virus. 

“The basis for successful prevention is therefore the basic rules of conduct – distance, hygiene, wearing masks etc. – as well as effective testing, tracing and isolating suspicious cases,” the study found. 

’No pseudo-science’ in coronavirus battle

The Complexity Science Hub Vienna, which produced the report, has said the most important way to prevent the spread of the coronavirus was to prevent activities where people in small groups have “long-term contact with one another”. 

Schools (particularly at higher levels), shops, bars, offices and cafes should be closed in order to minimise this type of contact. 

“Measures to restrict private celebrations and similar events should therefore have priority, before widespread curfews or school closings are considered,” said the researchers. 

However Peter Klimek, who put together the study, told Kurier a range of “less drastic measures” should also be taken. 

Klimek said some of the more common measures, such as mask wearing, were shown to be effective and should therefore be encouraged as much as possible. 

“In view of such results, it is all the more surprising that a 20 percent reduction in infections by simply wearing mouth and nose protection is not considered to be very effective in some places.”

We need to avoid “pseudo-science”, Klimek said. 

These measures also included ensuring infected people were separated from non-infected people in medical facilities and nursing homes, which had not always taken place since the outbreak of the virus. 

Klimek said that major events should be cancelled and travel restrictions should be put in place, while financial support should be available to all members of Austrian society. 

While many middle-class Austrians were able to work from home and/or isolate in the case of an infection, poorer people were unable to do so – risking the further spread of the virus. 

‘Avoiding an overload of the health system’

The researchers said Austrian authorities should not be complacent about healthcare capacity. 

The authors said Austrian hospitals would be overloaded “with around 4,700 to 7,800 new infections daily”. 

The average daily cases in Austria over the past 14 days is 900, however it is rising. 

Klimek said there was no need to be concerned, even amid rising case numbers. 

“The overwhelming majority of scientific findings clearly state that there is no need to be alarmed in the case of marginal increases in the number of cases, nor to allow the epidemic to run uncontrollably.”

 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

HEALTH

When can I ask for reimbursement for medical expenses in Austria?

If you visit an 'elective doctor' in Austria or go for certain procedures and examinations, you might have to pay the costs upfront. But when will your statutory health insurance reimburse you?

When can I ask for reimbursement for medical expenses in Austria?

Austria’s health system can seem complicated. Most people are insured by statutory insurance companies, ensuring they receive quality care for free in the country. 

However, there may be times when you want to go the private route – be it for specific examinations, or if you are searching for a particular specialist or, most commonly, if you just can’t or won’t wait to get an appointment via the public system. As the number of public doctors drops, more and more people have reached out to the “elective” doctors, or to private laboratories for certain exams instead of waiting weeks in the public system.

In those cases, the public health insurance funds often reimburse your expenses, at least partially. 

READ ALSO: Six things to know about visiting a doctor in Austria

When can I ask for reimbursement?

There are several cases when you can be reimbursed by Austria’s largest health insurance company, the ÖGK. These include:

  • Private or elective doctors: Elective doctors do not have a contract with the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK). You will therefore be treated there as a private patient and must initially pay for the treatment yourself. In most cases, ÖGK will reimburse part of the costs.
  • Dental Health: In addition to conservative dental treatment and dentures, the ÖGK dental services also include jaw adjustments (braces).
  • CT, MRI and x-rays: Computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and X-rays are “diagnostic imaging procedures”. The Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) covers the costs if the examination is carried out at an authorized institute.
  • Therapists: the ÖGK will cover costs for speech therapy, physio therapy and psychotherapy, among others. You can read more HERE.
  • Midwives: Midwives support women during pregnancy, during childbirth and in the initial period afterwards. The Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) covers certain costs for the midwife.
  • Hospital stays: Persons insured with the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) can receive outpatient or inpatient treatment in certain hospitals throughout Austria. The fund will not cover any special fees that are incurred for accommodation in “special class” (some hospitals offer private rooms as special class, for example). For medically necessary treatment in hospitals with which there is no contractual relationship,  ÖGK currently pays a daily care cost allowance of € 399.97, but not more than the actual costs incurred.
  • Medical aids and medication: The Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) covers the costs of medical aids and aids such as hearing aids, diabetes supplies or bandages if you have a doctor’s prescription for them. The ÖGK also covers medication costs, but you need a prescription from a doctor. 

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

How much will I get?

The reimbursement does not cover the whole cost. Once the reimbursement is approved, you will get 80 percent of what the ÖGK would have paid to the public system. This is not the same as 80 percent of your invoice.

The insurance fund doesn’t always approve invoices, it will evaluate the need and set up limits (so, you won’t get a refund on every doctor’s visit if you go to the same specialist type in a short period, for example). Particularly if you plan on a big expense, it’s worth it to check with the fund beforehand if they would cover the private costs.

How can I claim reimbursement?  

You first need to obtain receipts for all medical expenses, including doctor’s invoices, hospital bills, and pharmacy receipts. You’ll also need to gather payment confirmation. Then, you submit this information as a claim request on the website of your insurance company. With ÖGK, the link is HERE.  

You then wait for the processing time, which can take up to several weeks. If your request is approved, you’ll receive the money back straight to the bank account you have in your account details on the insurance website. 

READ ALSO: Will my Austrian health insurance pay for medical expenses abroad?

What if I have private insurance?

Most private insurance in Austria work with statutory companies. You’ll follow the same exact path. Once you get confirmation of how much the public insurance will reimburse you (or if it won’t reimburse you), you can then send all these documents to your private insurance. They will pay the difference between what you got from the public company and what you paid in private healthcare.

SHOW COMMENTS