2000 euros demanded

Night in hospital was very expensive for patient

The Neuromed Campus, formerly the Wagner-Jauregg State Mental Hospital

(Bild: Scharinger Daniel/Pressefoto Scharinger © Albin Schuster)

A man from Linz (27) wanted to be admitted to hospital due to acute psychological problems. Only the next day did it emerge that he was not insured - now he has to pay 2000 euros - for just one night. The "Krone" knows how such cases can be prevented.

An overnight stay for 2000 euros - that sounds like a top-class luxury hotel. However, a 27-year-old from Linz now has to pay exactly this amount for one night in a completely different hotel. "My son went to the Neuromed Campus in Linz because he wasn't feeling well mentally. He handed in his e-card in the waiting area and then got it back without comment. He assumed that everything was fine and that he was insured," reports the mother of the patient.

One night
The son was admitted to a room in the Social Psychiatric Outpatient Center (SPAZ) at Kepler University Hospital and spent the night there.

A rude awakening
But the next day came as a rude awakening: "In the morning, my son's insurance status was checked. Surprisingly, it was only then that it turned out that he wasn't insured at all," she continues. "A social worker then came to him and urgently advised him to sign a lapel and leave the hospital, which he did."

Almost 2000 euros
However, he was not spared the costs for the night: the young man is now expected to pay almost 2,000 euros for an overnight stay in the hospital formerly known as Wagner Jauregg. "We can't understand why the insurance status wasn't checked before admission. My son has ended up with a major financial problem instead of the help he was hoping for."

The insurance status is checked by inserting the e-card. Sometimes, however, this query can turn out to be incorrect in retrospect.

Brigitte Buberl, Leiterin der Stabstelle Kommunikation im KUK

Query turned out to be incorrect
When asked by the Krone, Brigitte Buberl, Head of Communications at the KUK, said that the case was known. "The insurance status is checked by inserting the e-card. However, it can happen in individual cases that an initially positive inquiry later turns out to be incorrect or vice versa," says Buberl. "In this case, the insurance was unfortunately not valid. Because previous queries had always been positive, it was assumed that the insurance cover was valid."

Patients need to be informed
It is therefore essential that patients are aware of their own insurance status. The period is particularly dangerous when young people are no longer co-insured with their parents, but are also not yet employed or have not yet taken out self-insurance. In the case of compulsory insurance, the health insurance fund will provide information; in the case of private insurance, the details can be found in the policy or obtained from your advisor.

„Krone“-Kommentar:

Psychische Ausnahmesituation

First of all: everyone should be entitled to medical treatment, whether physical or psychological. In Austria, we are (still) fortunate that compulsory insurance covers hospital stays and necessary treatment. Nevertheless, young people in particular, who have never had to deal with insurance before, can suddenly find themselves uninsured during a sometimes difficult transition phase. 

(Bild: Markus Wenzel / Krone Kreativ)

If there is also an exceptional psychological situation, it is hardly surprising that the current insurance status is not the first thing on people's minds - with expensive consequences.