Health Insurance

There are three public insurance institutions in Austria: 

• ÖGK covers salaried employees earning above the marginal earnings threshold, apprentices, pensioners and other groups of people.  
• BVAEB is responsible for public employees, railroads and mining.  
• The SVS insures the self-employed and farmers. 

The three institutions differ to some extent in the way they provide benefits and in the amount of contributions or co-payments to be made by the insured person, but are similar overall. 

In Austria, every insured person, including co-insured family members, has an E-Card, a card with microchip that you must bring with you to all doctor examinations. It serves as proof of your insurance status and gives doctors access to your electronic health record (ELGA).

It is recommended that you always carry the e-card with you, as it gives you universal access to the public system of hospitals, doctors and treatment centers throughout the country.

With the e-card, doctors and pharmacists can see what medication you are taking, to avoid adverse effects from incompatible medications. It also allows your doctor to upload prescriptions electronically so that you can easily receive recurring prescriptions from your local pharmacy.

For insured persons without Austrian citizenship, one more important step is required after receiving the Austrian social security number in order to obtain an e-card with a photo. You must bring a passport photo to one of the registration offices. An online appointment is required. 

You must come to the registration office in person and provide the following documents: 

• A current passport photo (not older than 6 months, according to the essential criteria)

• Austrian social security number 

• A valid travel document (original) 

As an employee, your insurance provider is the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK). Public employees, such as politicians, university staff, teachers, but also farmers and workers in the railroad and mining industries are insured through the BVAEB.  

The employer must register you and your insurance coverage starts on the first day you start work. The employee pays between 1.5% and 3.9% of their income, depending on the insurance taken out by the employer. 

Sick leave in an employment relationship: 

If you fall ill, you must immediately inform your employer that you are unable to work (i.e. take sick leave). Typically, this involves making a phone call to the company, ideally at the start of your working day or even earlier if possible. You should immediately see a doctor and obtain a sick note, which must be submitted to the employer upon request. Failure to comply with this request may result in loss of the continued payment of wages for the sick leave period. 

As a self-employed person, you are insured with the Social Insurance Institution for the Self-Employed (SVS). It is important to distinguish between entrepreneurs, business partner and freelancers.  

Self-employed persons are divided by law into businesses with a trade license and freelancers, whereas freelancers are independent employees. 

Tradespeople require a trade license and pay trade tax, while freelancers are generally not subject to trade tax. Freelancers include professions such as doctors, architects, tax consultants and journalists. 

If you require an Austrian trade license or if you are a liable partner of an OG, KG or GmbH (various types of company in Austria), you are required to take out insurance. In principle, registering a business license automatically means that you are required to take out mandatory insurance. Under certain conditions, however, you can be (partially) exempted from compulsory insurance. 

Regardless of whether you are insured through ÖGK, BVAEB, SVS or self-insurance, you can co-insure your family members so that they receive the same benefits as you, provided they are also ordinarily residents in Austria.

Dependents include spouses and registered partners, children (legitimate or illegitimate, adopted or raised by single parents) as well as stepchildren and grandchildren who live permanently with the insured person in the same household. 

You must pay an additional contribution to ÖGK for certain co-insured persons. This is 3.4 percent of the calculation basis (gross income) of the insured person. 

ÖGK will check whether a contribution is payable in your case and will send you a questionnaire for this purpose. The contribution does not have to be paid in the following cases: 

• The co-insured person is currently raising one or more children in the same household.