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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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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?

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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