For the preservation of unrestricted access to medical specialists

Dear Patients,
As you may have already learned from media reports (e.g. ORF), the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) is planning to restrict the free access of insured persons to specialist doctors.

Specifically, it is proposed that a consultation with a general practitioner must first take place as a mandatory step. Only if deemed necessary will a referral to a specialist be issued. This would mean that a direct visit to your specialist, as you have been accustomed to, would no longer be possible. Even in the case of a private doctor (Wahlarzt), ÖGK would no longer reimburse the costs without a referral.

This would represent a significant deterioration in medical care for the population. Therefore, we – a coalition of independent specialists from various disciplines (surgery, dermatology, ENT, internal medicine, orthopaedics and traumatology, pulmonology, and urology) – are addressing you with this petition and asking for your support!

Help us maintain access to specialists for all insured persons!
Our goal is to ensure low-threshold, efficient, and high-quality care within the existing insurance framework – without additional costs for patients.