Fewer guest patients!

Why Burgenlanders are not welcome in Vienna

SPÖ party comrades Hans Peter Doskozil (left) and Peter Hacker from Vienna have already got on better.(Bild: HANS KLAUS TECHT)

Visiting patients should take a back seat in the capital, demands Vienna City Councillor for Health Peter Hacker. Of course, his party colleague from Burgenland counters.

Although the city of Vienna introduced an upper limit last year, City Councillor for Health Peter Hacker (SPÖ) identifies a "problem with guest patients from other federal states" - their treatment would be at the expense of the Viennese, who would have to adjust to long waiting times in the hospitals. "I assume that the neighboring federal states in the eastern region will come to their senses that it is not enough to finance only 70 or 75 percent of hospital treatment for their own population, and that others should take care of the rest," says Hacker. Separate waiting lists are now conceivable. "The people of Vienna are right to demand that we use their tax money to improve Vienna's healthcare services and reduce their waiting times."

Viennese should also be given preferential treatment at the AKH.(Bild: Honorar)

"Laws must be complied with"
The counterattack from Burgenland comes straight away. There are clear regulations on the treatment of guest patients, says Governor Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ). "I assume that laws and treaties in Austria will be complied with. If not, we will use all legal options and defend ourselves. This is no way to treat people who have paid into the healthcare system for years."

 Health offensive in Burgenland
Doskozil is strictly opposed to "battles over the distribution of tax revenue being fought on the backs of patients" - after all, there was an agreement on financial equalization in 2024, which was supported by Vienna. "I feel that Vienna's approach also confirms the offensive strategy that Burgenland has adopted in the healthcare and hospital sector." The major goal now is to guarantee a broad spectrum of care in the field of cutting-edge medicine for the people of Burgenland in their own province. "We are working hard on this."