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HEALTH

Austria to crack down on ski tourists evading lockdown

Austria will tighten checks to deter foreign skiers from using loopholes in the country's coronavirus lockdown to travel to the country's ski resorts.

Published: 2 February 2021 19:50 CET
Austria to crack down on ski tourists evading lockdown
Photo: GEORG HOCHMUTH / APA / AFP

“We will intensify controls” in Alpine ski resorts and at the border, Austrian Interior Minister Karl Nehammer told a press conference.

Though a lockdown has kept hotels, restaurants, bars, schools and all non-essential businesses closed for weeks, Austria's government allowed ski lifts to re-open just before Christmas, maintaining that outdoor sports posed little transmission risk.

But while the measure was intended for locals only, there have also been reports of hundreds of foreigners being lured to the pistes and several virus outbreaks have been reported at resorts.

Authorities in St. Anton in the western Tyrol region last week complained about two hundred foreigners from the UK, Denmark, Germany, Australia, Ireland and Sweden who had mostly arrived by train from Zurich.

Local officials said the visitors had registered for residency, claiming they were looking for employment in the closed-down tourism industry.

More than 44 addresses in the area were raided on Friday and Nehammer said “it was possible to file more than 100 charges and to set an example”.

The majority now face fines of up to 2,180 euros ($2,620), a spokesman for Tyrol's provincial government told AFP, adding that the exact amount would be determined on a case-by-case basis but that none of them could be deported or arrested.

Still, the raids prompted about 30 foreigners to give notification that they were leaving and depart St Anton over the past few days, Helmut Mall, the mayor, told AFP on Tuesday.

Mall said he hoped “this was a clear message that nobody should come — we're still under lockdown,” he said.

EXPLAINED: How Austria's coronavirus restrictions are about to change 

“Now some calm will return,” to St. Anton, which usually hosts about 12,000 skiers per week in the winter, Mall said.

A single skier from Germany was placed under quarantine on Friday in St. Anton, as she could not produce pre-travel clearance documents required to cross the Austrian border, Helmut Pintarelli, a police inspector in St. Anton, told AFP Tuesday.

Pintarelli denied previous media reports that 96 foreigners were placed under quarantine and that they had been charged for partying in the small village.

Interior Minister Nehammer on Tuesday also announced tougher border measures, including a requirement for cross-border commuters to register with authorities and get tested on a weekly basis.

Though Austria will ease restrictions starting Monday, with stores and schools allowed to reopen, hotels, cafes and restaurants will stay closed.

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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?

Published: 14 June 2024 12:15 CEST
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.

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