Mikl-Leitner demands: "Remove borders in the healthcare sector"
We must work together on this." Good friends could also "openly say when something is not going right."
"Vienna's regulation on guest patients unsettles many people"
"Vienna's regulation on guest patients unsettles many people and shakes their trust in our healthcare system," Mikl-Leitner continued. "Therefore, it is high time that we resolve this issue."
The Governor also reminded that only in 2024 a 15a agreement on financial equalization had been concluded, in which Lower Austria annually forgoes about 500 million euros, "which predominantly flow to Vienna to treat our guest patients." Mikl-Leitner also referred to an "existing contract" and added: "Why this is not being adhered to, we must discuss in detail. Especially since legal experts confirm that this approach is not legally sustainable."
Lower Austrian hospitals also treat guest patients
In addition, "of course, Lower Austrian hospitals also treat guest patients from Vienna." "120,000 outpatient and 11,000 inpatient patients came from Vienna last year," said Mikl-Leitner.
Vienna's City Councillor for Health, Peter Hacker (SPÖ), recently brought measures such as separate waiting lists for Viennese and out-of-town patients into play. This was argued by the fact that the federal capital, according to the state government, already subsidizes over 610 million euros from the state budget last year because the additional funds allocated to it for the care of guest patients from other federal states (especially Lower Austria and Burgenland) are not sufficient. This is disputed by the two federal states.
To clarify, Vienna's Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) has invited Mikl-Leitner and her Burgenland counterpart Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ) to a health summit with experts. Additionally, the topic is also to be brought onto the agenda of the "Reform Partnership" process between the federal government and the states and the Conference of Provincial Governors.
(APA/Red)
This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.