The Court criticizes the Vienna Medical Association. She is far too careless and too generous with the mandatory contributions. Also because more and more ‘coal’ is coming in. The representatives are sitting on a treasure worth billions.
“You don’t talk about money, you have it” – the motto of the rich probably also applies to the Vienna Medical Association. The Court of Audit examined the economic behavior of the professional representation from 2017 to 2022. The auditors spare no criticism for the careless handling of the mandatory contributions that every Viennese doctor must pay monthly.
High personnel costs
The most important points: During the period studied, income increased (plus 35 percent), but expenditure even more (plus 47 percent). According to the Court of Audit, the reason is personnel costs. The number of employees grew by almost 40 percent in five years. A lot of money was also wasted in connection with the disastrous Equip4Ordi project. External advisors in particular made profits.
The now defunct chamber subsidiary Equip4Ordi was founded to meet ordination needs. As reported, the affair developed into a judicial crime with high bonuses, questionable deals, high losses and a real guerrilla war among the officials.
At the center of the arguments: chamber chairman Johannes Steinhart. The 69-year-old was vice president during the reporting period and had a lot of control.
Hardly any control, management errors
The auditors explain how the disaster could have happened. Due to too few control and management errors in business investments. “These made it more difficult to recognize shortcomings of the management of Equip4 Ordi GmbH and to intervene in a timely manner,” the company said.
What quickly leads to bankruptcy for private companies is not a problem for the House. The financial cushion is thick and apparently getting thicker. Every year, the professional representation generated a surplus of 2.44 million euros. In 2022 alone, the room tax amounted to more than 22.8 million euros.
The much larger part is the welfare fund, into which all doctors must pay in addition to their room tax. This concerns several hundred euros, in some cases even thousands of euros. Per person and month!
The fund achieved a positive result of almost 451 million euros from 2017 to 2022. The money is mainly invested in real estate and securities. In 2022, the assessed assets amounted to almost 1.5 billion euros, according to the Court of Audit. This is a good way to live.
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.
