Because the doctor’s fee for passport examinations of mothers and children has not been adjusted for 28 years, despite increasing additional services, the Medical Association in Upper Austria has announced that it will exit the system. As a result, mothers would not meet the conditions for childcare allowance. Four other federal states also want to leave.
The medical associations in Vienna, Lower Austria and Styria have already decided to phase out the mother-child pass at the end of March 2023, and preparations in Upper Austria and Carinthia are underway, informed the representative of the specialist group for gynecology and obstetrics in Upper Austria and the chairman of the federal specialist group Thomas Fiedler on Thursday. He cites the increased volume of services and a lack of valorisation of fees over the past 28 years as the reason.
adjust boundary conditions
Even if the mother-child passport examination in Austria is “a success story”, the preconditions must finally be adapted to today. The original compensation of EUR 18.02 was maintained, although pension benefits have increased significantly since 1994.
Conversations with nine ministers
“We’re concentrating now,” Fiedler formulated the pace of the individual state chambers. He has held talks with nine ministers in the past. Even if he found some open ears, nothing further came of the case, according to the chairman of the federal specialist group. That is why three chambers of state have already decided to stop. Doctors would then no longer offer the examinations that are in the passport as health insurance.
If there is now “no movement” in this matter, Fiedler expects Upper Austria to also make the decision to leave by the end of this year. Carinthia is also planning this.
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.
