In June, the new digital parent-child passport with the expansion of services in the House of Representatives failed due to a formal error. The corresponding law has now been passed with the votes of the ÖVP and the Greens in the National Council. There was also a majority in favor of facilitating the establishment of primary care units. Before that there were heated discussions, which were fueled by the loaded subject of gender.
FPÖ MP Peter Wurm objected to the name of the new document. The mother-child pass is a success story, it is about protecting the mother, which is now being scrapped, Wurm criticized. The ÖVP “removes the mother from the worldview”, he said, participating in an ideological project of the Greens.
bot of twist data storage
In addition, the FPÖ politician criticized the storage of the data for 30 years as “full electronic control of mothers”. Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) justified the long retention period with the extension until the child’s 18th birthday and as a precaution for widely spaced births.
Meri Disoski, women’s spokeswoman for the Greens, countered Wurm. “Who are you kidding? You make women invisible!” She accused the FPÖ, referring to the small number of female MPs and the planned gender ban in Lower Austria, where the FPÖ leader, Udo Landbauer, represents a woman, but makes her invisible in his title.
mockery of Kickl
The ÖVP MP Elisabeth Pfurtscheller also criticized the liberal spokesperson for consumer protection Wurm: The new parent-child pass is so called because every child has parents. “Both mother and father take responsibility,” Pfurtscheller emphasized. From the PVV’s point of view, fathers don’t have time to go to consultations, “because they are building Fort Austria,” she sneered at the FPÖ. “We need them so Mr. Kickl can get back on a horse.”
The Liberals did not allow that to happen. “Thank you for clarifying that the ÖVP has completely written off security policy,” commented Member of Parliament Dagmar Belakowitsch. She also criticized the name of the new parent-child passport, with which the government “holds people hostage to their ideology”.
What’s new besides the name?
In concrete terms, the pension program must enter into force in January 2024, by 2026, the scope of services should be expanded to include additional offerings during pregnancy and for newborns. The new services include a health consultation at the start of pregnancy, a second voluntary midwife consultation before delivery and advice to parents. Additional hearing screening for newborns, another ultrasound and nutritional and health advice for pregnant women, nursing mothers or young parents are also made possible.
The innovations in primary care were also accepted, this time with the broad approval of the ÖVP, Greens, SPÖ and NEOS. The establishment of Primary Care Units (PVEs) is made simpler and less bureaucratic, and the medical associations can no longer veto them. In addition to the current 40 existing PVEs, at least 43 more will be added across Austria by the end of 2026. The goal is even 120. Instead of the previous 340,000 patients, more than 700,000 people have to be cared for each year. Health professionals other than doctors can also become shareholders, and pure pediatric services are also legally possible.
Tax Clearance: Negotiations also in the summer
Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) was satisfied. The decision is “a first, but a very important building block of a comprehensive health care reform, which we are now trying to implement in the course of financial settlement.” he was convinced of the trend towards vacant doctor positions in health insurance, the rise of elective doctors and the fight against patient avoidance in outpatient clinics. The financial settlement will be worked through the summer so that a decision can be made in the autumn.
MPs Ralph Schallmeiner and Josef Smolle, who negotiated the amendment for the Greens and ÖVP, also stressed in their contributions that two people could set up a PVE in the future and that EUR 100 million in funding from the development and resilience plan of the EU is coming. finished. Well over 30 PVE are already in the starting blocks.
“Money alone will not be enough”
The SPÖ tried to emphasize that the primary care law was originally adopted in the time of Christian Kern and Pamela Rendi-Wagner. However, Rudolf Silvan complained that measures against the shortage of doctors were lacking. Gerhard Kaniak (FPÖ) even spoke of a disaster in this regard. “Money alone and what you have presented here will not be enough to solve the problems,” he stressed. The praise, on the other hand, came from the NEOS. The MP, Fiona Fiedler, applauded Rauch for showing the courage to “rebel against various stakeholders”.
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.
