Automatic elective doctor billing will be issued starting July 1

Electronic reimbursement of costs after an elective doctor's visit will begin from Monday next week (July 1). From then on, elective doctors must submit bills online to the relevant health insurance company for reimbursement at the request of their patients. The regulation affects all those who care for more than 300 different patients annually.

According to the Ministry of Health, this should cover around 80 percent of elective doctor's bills submitted to the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK). The time until reimbursement is made should also be significantly shortened in this way. The submission is made via the software solution “WAH-Online”. Patients of elective doctor's offices who are not affected by the mandatory transfer still have the option of submitting the bills themselves, she said.

Electronic invoicing should be promoted.

The agreement between the Ministry of Social Affairs, ÖGK and the Medical Association, which was first reported by the Standard, aims to promote direct electronic billing. The Medical Syndicate recently questioned whether the July 1 deadline was met. The relevant details were negotiated until the end.

According to the Standard, the medical association was privileged in that the mandatory billing threshold was not set at a maximum of 15,000 euros, which is similar to the cash register requirement. This would have affected around 90 percent of all elective doctors' bills submitted. The current agreement with more than 300 patients per year means that slightly fewer elective doctors – than originally planned by the ÖGK – will have to switch to electronic transmission of billing notes.

Facilities for patients in case of cancellation by elective doctors

Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) was pleased with the “additional relief for patients”. In addition, from 2026, elective doctors will be linked to the electronic card system and the ELGA in order to enable complete documentation of individual medical history, says Rauch.

ÖGK Chairman Matthias Kren also praised electronic billing as “one of many measures to improve elective physician reimbursement.” This represents a “huge relief” for the 7.6 million people insured at ÖGK. For Edgar Wötscher, Vice President of the Austrian Medical Association and President of the Federal Curia of Resident Doctors, the agreement reached brings “clarity” to both patients and resident doctors. the doctors. In addition, Watcher found “a greater willingness among elective physicians to support their patients in getting their reimbursements more quickly.”

(Source: APA)