Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) made it clear on Friday that he wants to turn around the “big screws” of the health system. He mainly puts pressure on the medical association, which must act on crucial points. If no agreement is reached in the course of this year, the minister threatens to go it alone.
The reason for Rauch’s initiative is the negotiations on the financial framework for 2023: if no agreement is reached before the end of the year, the current status will remain in force for another five years. “It cannot stay as it is for five years, because then it will become even more expensive, even more inefficient and the problems will get worse,” Rauch warned in the Ö1 “Morgenjournal”.
“The room is too preoccupied with conservation”
He emphasized that he did not want to put the wind in anyone’s sails, but called on all interest groups – from the medical association to social security and the Ministry of Finance – to speed up. The medical profession in particular, however, is a “weighty representative of physician interests and an extremely tough negotiator.”
But the room is too concerned with conservation, “not too much with sustainable design”, he bluntly clarified his position. However, they would have a common interest in working together to improve the situation of patients in the country, Rauch said.
Rauch calls for urgent reforms
In any case, his first approach is to find a solution in the coming talks. However, if there is no willingness to implement reforms, “then we will have to consider how we can get individual contract partners to comply,” said the minister.
One cannot afford an endless continuation of such “states of inertia,” Rauch insisted on a conclusion in the current year. After all, it must be ensured that everyone in Austria has equal and good access to the health system.
The medical association’s right of veto could lapse
Rauch is also critical of the ongoing trend towards alternative medical practices – after all, enough doctors are already being trained to care for people. And when it comes to primary care centers, Rauch also demands speed. While the EU has earmarked €100 million for its establishment, there are currently only 39 such group practices, although there should have been 75.
“I don’t understand the resistance of the Medical Association here,” says Rauch, who also wants to see the Medical Association’s veto power in this context. This should also be a thing of the past by the end of the year in connection with primary care centers, the minister explained.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
