New figures are available

Prisoners: 12 million euros in hospital costs per year

Time and again, prison inmates have to be admitted to hospitals

(Bild: Martin A. Jöchl)

If prisoners have to be treated in hospitals, taxpayers often have to pay for it. Last year, the costs in Styria amounted to 12.3 million euros - and in the first quarter of this year alone, it was more than four million euros.

As the majority of prisoners in the local prisons do not have health insurance, the hospitals charge the costs directly to the Ministry of Justice. For years, there have been calls (including from the Court of Audit) for prison inmates to be included in the insurance system - but this has not yet been implemented.

The Freedom Party has now received the latest figures on the costs incurred at the request of Karlheinz Kornhäusl (ÖVP), State Councillor for Health. According to these figures, 12.3 million euros were charged in Styria in the previous year. At 11.8 million euros, the majority was accounted for by the Graz II Regional Hospital, with the University Hospital in Graz and the Hochsteiermark Regional Hospital accounting for less.

Slight decline since 2021
However, the trend was down for the second year in a row. The previous high of more than 14 million euros was recorded in 2021, a year dominated by coronavirus. In comparison: in 2019 it was only 8.3 million euros.

This year, the arrow could point upwards again. In the first quarter, treatment costs for prisoners already amounted to four million euros. Incidentally, there are no comparative figures with other federal states. According to Kornhäusl's department, such a survey is not economical and expedient "due to the considerable additional work involved".

The Styrian FPÖ leader Mario Kunasek

(Bild: Jauschowetz Christian/Christian Jauschowetz)

The high costs are certainly a thorn in the side of Styrian FPÖ leader Mario Kunasek: "It can be proven that around half of all inmates in Austrian prisons are not Austrian. The enormous costs for hospital care for Styrian prisoners are therefore largely due to the uncontrolled mass immigration of partly criminal elements."