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FREELANCING

EXPLAINED: How freelancers in Austria can pay four times less in social insurance

Self-employed people in Austria are insured by SVS and have to cover 20 percent of treatment costs. that can be reduced to 5 percent. Here's how.

Published: 1 March 2022 10:55 CET
Updated: 5 April 2024 10:13 CEST
Freelancers in Austria may be able to reduce their social insurance contributions. Here's how. Photo by Ewan Robertson on Unsplash
Freelancers in Austria may be able to reduce their social insurance contributions. Here's how. Photo by Ewan Robertson on Unsplash

Austria has a mandatory health and social insurance policy, which means that every resident needs to be insured.

EXPLAINED: What is it like being self-employed in Vienna?

Most people in Austria, 82 percent in total, are insured by ÖGK through their employers.

Self-employed workers, however, have to make their payments themselves with Sozialversicherung der Selbständigen, or SVS. 

Several differences come from this, the main one being that self-employed people need to register and make the payments by themselves, while employed workers will have their contributions automatically taken from salaries and paid for by employers.

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about becoming a freelancer in Austria

Another key distinction is that SVS will not cover 100 percent of costs when it comes to health treatments and doctor consults.

Self-employed people need to cover a 20 percent proportion of costs, the so-called Selbstbehalt. That means that if a doctor that works with the SVS insurer charges € 100 for his consultation, SVS will pay €80, and the rest, €20, will come via invoice for the self-employed person to pay for afterwards.

Bills rarely come this high, though. Even so, there is a way to reduce that co-pay rate to 5 percent.

The ‘healthy self-employed program’

SVS has a program to promote health that will let you cut the costs of payment, conditional to achieving specific health goals. 

Insured people can arrange these health goals with their doctors. The targets can be regarding blood pressure, weight, exercise, tobacco and alcohol consumption, according to SVS.

READ MORE: Top co-working spaces in Austria for freelancers and entrepreneurs

After six months, you can arrange another consultation with the doctor to check on those goals. If you have met them, the doctor can sign off on reducing copayment costs from 20 percent to 10 percent.

After two to three years, another evaluation is necessary, and people who kept their achievements can co-payments to 5 percent. 

The rates can also be achieved by “fit” people as there can be “maintenance” goals.

Self-employed people can make an appointment at the SVS Health Centre in Vienna to agree on goals or go straight to their own family doctor. 

The My SVS website (you have to be logged in to access) has a PDF form with all the possible goals that can be agreed together with the doctor, including columns for the “current values”, a separate column for goals (including things such as “continue to be a non-smoker”), and a third column for the “after” evaluation. 

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about health insurance for freelancers in Austria

Useful links

SEA – The self-employed in Austria group supports self-employed individuals by delivering information in the form of guidebooks and free articles in English. 

SVS – The social insurance organisation for self-employed people in Austria.

WKO – The Austrian Chamber of Commerce is a useful source of information for self-employed people.

Useful vocabulary

Sozialversicherung – social insurance

Selbständigen – self-employed

Neue Selbständige – new self-employed

Steuer – tax

Gesundheitsversicherung – health insurance

Pensionsvorsorge  – pension provision

Unfallversicherung – accident insurance

Verwaltungskosten – administration costs

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HEALTH INSURANCE

How can I get an appointment with a physiotherapist in Austria?

If you are recovering from an injury, experiencing pain, or simply aiming to improve your physical function, visiting a physiotherapist is a good idea. Here is what you need to know about physiotherapy in Austria.

Published: 23 April 2024 11:02 CEST
How can I get an appointment with a physiotherapist in Austria?

Physiotherapy can be the key to improving mobility, managing pain, recovering from injuries, and optimising overall physical function. Many people will need such services at some point in their lives.

If you need a physiotherapist in Austria, you can choose between going to one who is contracted with your insurance company (Therapeut mit Kassenvertrag) or to a so-called elective therapist (Wahltherapeut). For both options, you will need a referral from a general practitioner, such as your family doctor (Hausarzt), if you want to access the service for free (with your e-card) or get a reimbursement for your treatment.

Physiotherapy through your health insurance company

If you want to go to a physiotherapist without having to pay for it, you can try to find a suitable physiotherapist who is contracted with your insurance company. 

Physiotherapy is free of charge if your therapist is contracted with large public insurance companies such as the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK), Insurance Institution for Public Employees, Railways and Mines (BVAEB) or Social Insurance Institution for the Self-Employed (SVS).

These insurance companies settle directly with their contracted therapists and you do not need to pay anything out of pocket. However, accessing this kind of free treatment can sometimes be hard, as those with the most urgent needs are prioritised, which can result in long waiting times for appointments. 

Here you can find a list of physiotherapists who work privately but still have a contract with ÖGK, sorted by regions within Austria.

Physiotherapist of your choice

If you want to go to a therapist that is not contracted with your insurance company, you initially have to pay for the treatment yourself.

Once your treatment is completed and the treatment costs have been paid in full, you can apply to your health insurance company for reimbursement by submitting your confirmation of payment. Here you can find information on which other documents you may need to submit.

However, you will not be reimbursed the full amount. For example, with ÖGK, you usually receive about 80% of what contracted physiotherapists would get from ÖGK. If you are insured with SVS and BVAEB, the percentage is similar.

If you have another type of insurance, such as a private one, it is a good idea to check with them what their specific insurance covers.

Going to a physiotherapist can improve your quality of life. Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

Where do I find a suitable therapist?

There are plenty of ways to find the right physiotherapist that fits your needs. Sometimes your family doctor may have a recommendation, or perhaps a friend can suggest one. If you prefer to explore on your own and consider more options, you can search for a therapist online.

Websites such as physioaustria offer useful search functions where you can find therapists based on specific criteria, such as specialisation or insurance contracts. You might also find physiotherapie.at helpful for your search.

READ MORE: Everything foreigners need to know about the Austrian healthcare system

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