Austria · Healthcare
How the Austria healthcare system works — public vs private care, eligibility, and costs for residents and visitors.
AI-drafted, editorial review pending. The official links below are checked — confirm specifics with the authority.
Health care runs through compulsory social insurance. Employees are insured through their job, most of them with the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK), and the e-card is the insurance card shown at doctors, hospitals and pharmacies. People who are not insured through work can in many cases take out voluntary self-insurance. The 1450 health hotline gives medical advice by phone, and 144 is the emergency ambulance.
- Cover follows from employment or self-employment and is registered by the employer, so it generally starts with the job.
- The e-card identifies the insured person at contracted doctors, hospitals and pharmacies.
- The 1450 health hotline advises on where to get care; 144 is the emergency ambulance.
- gesundheit.gv.at
Public health portal.
- Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK)
Austrian Health Insurance Fund: employee registration and health cover.
- Dachverband der Sozialversicherungsträger
Umbrella portal of the social insurance institutions.
Government portals
- oesterreich.gv.at — Austrian Government Portal — Guidance and online services for residents, including residence registration and ID Austria.
- USP — Business Service Portal — Online company formation (e-start-up), beneficial-owner filings and business dealings with the authorities.
- Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) — Tax, customs and online filing through FinanzOnline.
- Migration Platform of the Austrian Federal Government — Red-White-Red Card, EU Blue Card and family reunification, with a points calculator.