E-Card in Austria

Hello curious minds! Today’s post is about health insurance and e-card in particular. As in most of the European countries, it is mandatory to have health insurance also in Austria. Of course, there are always many options to choose from whether you go for state or private providers, student or self-employed options and many more. We personally find the state option the best for many reasons that you will hear when you watch the video or visit the website below. Most importantly, it is an electronic card and saves a lot of administrative steps, which is always good. You can purchase one of these cards in the local Gebietkrankenkassa ‘s (according to the state you live in). 

Once you know which type of insurance you would like to take the acquire process is fairly easy. The most frequently used options are student insurance (Studierende) and for self-employed individuals (Selbstversicherung). These two insurances are paid monthly (around 58-60 €) either through a bank transfer which you have to make manually or via automatic deduction from the bank details you provide. You can choose one of these options if you earn up to 425 € monthly. If you are employed part-/full-time and your monthly income exceeds the amount of 425€ then health insurance fees will be automatically deducted from your monthly salary and will be partly covered through your employer. You can later claim part of this money through annual tax declaration. You can find more information on that online or in one of our future videos dedicated to tax refund.

Once you have your e-card you are able to visit doctors, hospitals and also purchase medication with prescription at cheaper rates from the pharmacies. Most of hospitals and doctor’s office accept e-card but we recommend you to check with the doctor whom you would like to make an appointment with whether they really accept the e-card. The list of doctors is available online if you google it for the state of Austria you live in. Keep in mind; waiting time for an appointment can vary by the size of the city you live in and availability of the medical specialists. 

We hope this post is helpful and offers answers for basic questions you might have regarding health insurance. Stay healthy and as always on a budget! J