About a week after the government presented the health care reform, the ÖVP and the Greens defended the package in the National Council. It is a “milestone” and could improve the situation of healthcare providers. As expected, the opposition sees it differently. These are just announcements, nothing is legally or financially established.
The recently presented health care reform is polarizing, as reported. For example, representatives reported that they were not involved in the government negotiations. The feedback is positive, said Minister of Health and Social Affairs Johannes Rauch (Greens) in the National Council. Many told him that they no longer believed in the Reformation at all and would see it as a sign of appreciation.
Rauch’s fellow party member, club president Sigrid Maurer, was particularly euphoric: “The term milestone is appropriate.” In this way, the situation of caregivers, mostly women, is actually improved. The implementation of the “biggest reform package in years” must now be tackled together.
More than 20 measures
In concrete terms, more than 20 measures are planned for the nursing profession, training and for dependents and caring relatives. Examples are a monthly training subsidy of 600 euros in the first year of training from next autumn and a monthly allowance of 1,400 euros for career changers from 2023. In addition, informal carers will receive a bonus, informal carers older than 43 will receive an extra week of vacation and assistants will get, connect and give injections in the future.
Package costs one billion euros
According to ÖVP club boss and social spokesman August Wöginger, a billion euros will be spent, of which 520 million euros in salaries. The package is important and shows the social signature of the government. “Care concerns us all. We thus pay tribute to the workers in the care sector, who had to overcome major challenges, especially during the pandemic, as well as to the carers for their important work.”
“Disappointment among the population”
As expected, there was criticism from the opposition in the National Council. “This is another entry in the story of their failure in health care reform. Because people no longer believe that they will make progress in healthcare, because they have only announced it for the last five years, but have not done anything,” said SPÖ spokesman Josef Muchitsch. The presentation was only given because the SPÖ put pressure on it. FPÖ MP Dagmar Belakowitsch (FPÖ) spoke of a “accumulation of headlines”, which would lead to renewed disappointment among the population. It is also not clear how the package will be financed. NEOS’s Fiona Fiedler was also annoyed that the entire industry was being mocked.
Until now, representatives of nursing have expressed different opinions. For example, they argue for the money for interns and the higher health care allowance, but see hardly any improvement for people in need of care and their loved ones. Due to the wave of inflation, it will no longer be affordable to care for people at home.
Source: Krone
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