Austria’s top health insurance official is pushing back against calls for a sweeping overhaul that would place the nation’s health-care planning, steering, and financing under a single centralized authority, according to “Kurier”. Andreas Huss, chair of the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK), said Friday in Klagenfurt that such a model would undermine the regional expertise essential to building a system that reflects the country’s diverse needs.
“I cannot support this idea,” Huss said. “Effective planning depends on local knowledge, something no national office in Vienna can replicate.” He argued that Austria’s existing target based governance, supported by Regional Health Structure Plans now nearing completion across the provinces, already provides a functional framework.
To illustrate the risks of centralization, Huss pointed to his home region of Lungau. “From Vienna, no one would imagine placing a hospital there. But Lungau is shaped by deep valleys and scattered communities. Its health-care needs cannot be mapped from afar,” he said.
Carinthian Health Minister Beate Prettner echoed the concern. With her province more than 200 miles from Vienna, she said centralized planning would inevitably misread regional realities and slow down responses to emerging problems. “We know our terrain, our communities, our needs. That cannot be coordinated solely from the capital.”
The press conference highlighted Carinthia’s newly approved Regional Health Structure Plan, which places strong emphasis on expanding Primary Care Centers (PVZ). The province currently operates just one, in Klagenfurt, but several more are moving forward in Spittal an der Drau, Villach, Wolfsberg, and Bleiburg, with additional centers planned for Feldkirchen and St. Veit an der Glan. By 2030, officials aim to open 15 such centers, offering services from dermatology and ophthalmology to women’s health.
Carinthia is also increasing first-care outpatient units attached to hospitals, designed to ease pressure on emergency departments. At Villach’s state hospital, 87 percent of patients treated in the unit were discharged without needing emergency care.
Calling Carinthia “a national example,” Huss said Austria should double down on PVZ expansion nationwide reaching 150 centers by 2026 and 300 by 2030 to bring integrated, community rooted care closer to the people.
