A study commissioned by the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) reveals that up to 57,000 residents, or 0.6 percent of the population, lacked health insurance at the end of 2024. Co-authored by Martin Schenk and Michael Fuchs, the report was released Wednesday.
Data from the Umbrella Organization of Social Insurance Institutions shows the lowest coverage rates among 20 to 24-year-olds. In 2025, facilities like Vienna's AmberMed and Graz's Marienambulanz treated thousands of uninsured patients, many from EU countries.
Delayed care is a major concern, as 19 percent of uninsured individuals wait over a year to seek treatment. To address this, authors propose automatic insurance for all school children, noting that many affected individuals only hold basic school certificates.