FPÖ also voted in favor

Political dispute over Viennese guest patients continues

No more upper limits according to origin, but according to contribution payments?

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

The upper limits for patients from Lower Austria and Burgenland are causing further controversy. Last year, the FPÖ also voted in favor of rejecting surgery tourists.

Excitement following the "Krone" report on further tightening of restrictions for guest patients in Vienna. As a reminder: Vienna's City Councillor for Health, Peter Hacker (SPÖ), can imagine having his own waiting lists for non-Viennese patients in order to noticeably reduce waiting times for Viennese patients and relieve the system. The FPÖ promptly voiced criticism.

Decision passed unanimously
Interesting: In April 2024, the FPÖ voted in favor of the lower upper limits for guest patients in the relevant municipal committee, in the city senate and ultimately in the municipal council. Incidentally, this vote was unanimous at the time - without anyone speaking. So criticism of your own decision? In response to a Krone inquiry, it now says: "The FPÖ agreed to this piece of mail. Because the federal states must not be played off against each other here. The problem is not - as SPÖ city councillor Hacker falsely claimed - guest patients from other federal states who pay taxes in Austria."

Who should be excluded instead
However, according to the FPÖ, it is not Lower Austrians or Burgenlanders who are putting a strain on the public healthcare system, but above all the influx of asylum seekers since 2015. Many Krone readers are likely to take a similar view. Tenor: no upper limits according to federal states, rather a distinction should be made between those paying into the social system and those not paying into it.