There are three areas of social insurance in Austria, health, accident, and pension insurance. Anyone who is covered by the state insurance system will be covered by at least one of these branches. The job you are employed in determines the amount you pay in contributions and the level of social insurance available to you. Basic health and dental treatment, specialist consultations, stays in public hospitals and medication are covered for all employees. Family dependants are automatically covered through the insurance of the employed family member.

Enrolment
All employers must register their employees with the district health insurance fund known as the Gebietskrankenkasse within 7 days of starting work. Employees and employers pay equal sums into the healthcare fund. Dependant family members are covered by the contributions paid by employed family members. If you are self-employed, you need to get additional insurance to cover members of your family. Children who are studying at a university are covered through their parents insurance until their 28th birthday or until they complete their studies, if this is sooner. All other groups must register themselves with their local Gebietskrankenkasse, situated in all towns and cities. The state pays for the care of vulnerable groups like the disabled.

The e-card
All Austrians entitled to use the state healthcare system are issued with an e-card from the Gebietskrankenkasse. This has replaced the former paper-based system of health insurance vouchers, which were called Krankenschein.

The e-card system has allowed the Austrian Social Security system to monitor all health claims electronically. The card has revolutionised the state healthcare system by removing the bureaucratic barriers that existed before. Today, the e-card acts as the patients proof of a claim with the doctor or dentist and can be used as a Citizen ID card because it contains an electronic signature and a person’s personal data including their date of birth and social security number.