Pandemic cost drivers – three times more than last year – as expensive as 2021

In the second year of the corona pandemic, government spending on health care has risen sharply again. In 2021, the federal government, federal states, municipalities and social security institutions spent a total of 38.49 billion euros. To put this in context, that equates to more than three quarters of the total expenditure of 49.13 billion.

That is 15.5 percent more than in 2020. According to Statistics Austria, the increase was mainly due to additional expenditure related to the pandemic – for example for Covid tests and vaccinations, but also for protective equipment, information campaigns and other expenditure related to the pandemic .

“In total, almost 5 billion euros of public funds were used to fight the pandemic in 2021 – three times more than in the previous year,” Tobias Thomas, director general of statistics Austria, said in a broadcast. In contrast, in the case of private financiers, “there was no significant increase in spending”.

Rauch: Measures, “even if I hit my skull”
Another comparison also illustrates the sharp increase in government spending due to the pandemic: In the period between 2004 and 2020, the average nominal increase in current public health spending was about 4.2 percent. From 2020 to 2021 there was an increase of 15.5 percent.

This cost explosion is putting enormous pressure on the financially battered sector. Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) announced the end of the corona measures in mid-January via “Krone”. Even if he “breaks his skull” with it.