There is an ice age between the health insurance fund and the dental association. While fillings can be up to 150 euros more expensive, assistants fight for fair wages. One of them now talks about the daily practice.
For most Austrians, going to the dentist with the mandatory drilling is a horror anyway. Due to the EU-wide ban on amalgam with toxic mercury content in fillings, there is now a risk of an avalanche of costs from January. Talks between the Austrian Health Insurance Fund and the Dental Association about the reimbursement of costs for new health insurance funds are currently on hold or have been broken off.
Dispute at the expense of 7.4 million people with health insurance
If no deal is reached, 7.4 million Austrians (with health insurance) will have to endure the dispute in the new year. There will be an additional charge of 70 to 150 euros per filling. In practice, they would then have to be paid privately and the invoice would have to be submitted to the ÖGK to get at least part of it back.
Away from the quarrel between the Medical Association and the ÖGK, 41-year-old dental assistant Renate B. (name changed by the editors) now talks about daily practice in the “Krone”. Since 2022, she and her colleagues have been covered by the same collective labor agreement. Despite price increases and inflation, they would have continued to work for the same wages – which only makes life difficult with an income of just under 2,000 euros from the 18th year of employment (see excerpt below). “We continue to wait for a wage increase. “It hasn’t happened yet,” says Renate B.
“We have to do things that we’re not even supposed to do.”
It is the fear of not being able to get a job in the industry as a ‘traitor’ that makes Renate B. request anonymity. She describes herself as a spokesperson for her colleagues from all over Austria: “I have heard of assistants who have to do dental hygiene without any additional training. Patients come complaining that the treatment hurts and that they bleed a lot. You don’t know if it was done by someone who was trained or if the dentist wanted to save money.”
There were even cases when one of her colleagues had to do fillings – without any training. Some other dental assistants have to pay for their own work clothes; activities such as vacuuming or cleaning toilets are also part of everyday life, just so the practice can save money. B. continues: I also know practices where only one face mask is used per day and the number of gloves is accurately calculated.”
The Dental Association refutes all allegations
According to chamber office director Felix Schmidt, everything is fine: “Dental assistants are used during ordinations for the tasks for which they are trained.” In the meantime, the union continues to fight for the assistants: “We were informed by the union that it now wants to loosen the already agreed package. The package would have delivered significant improvements for dental assistants.”
According to Renate, however, it looks more complicated: “The room was ready for a pay increase, but on other points they would have worsened our contract.” essence.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
