Percent of Population Aged 16 and Older Reporting Limitations in General Activities: 34.1%

Source: Statistics on Persons with Disabilities, Master tables concerning EU 2020: year 2018, Prepared for the European Disability Expertise (EDE) By Stefanos Grammenos (in collaboration with Mark Priestley), Sept. 11, 2020.

“In Austria, the main challenge is that disability politics and policies are still perceived and implemented as an add-on and not as a cross-cutting policy issue. The provisions of the UN CRPD [United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities] and the recommendations of its Committee are taken implemented only to a certain extent (if at all). Consequently, persons with disabilities face continuing challenges in comparison to other persons in Austrian society, which may become even more problematic in the COVID-19 context.”

Source: Ursula Naue and Petra Plieger, European Semester 2020-2021 country fiche on disability equality: Austria, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2021.

“As long as persons with disabilities are not recognised and addressed as a ‘target group’ with specific support needs, the situation for persons with disabilities will not ameliorate in Austria. Hence, the Commission staff needs to highlight the fact that an explicit disability perspective is necessary and that persons with disabilities should neither be subsumed under the unspecific term ‘vulnerable groups’ nor left out explicitly when addressing/discussing progress, regress or stagnation regarding policies.”

Source: Ursula Naue and Petra Plieger, European Semester 2020-2021 country fiche on disability equality: Austria, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2021.

“Regarding the above-mentioned key point no. 2 (limited/reduced access to healthcare), the not yet published comprehensive evaluation of the National Action Plan Disability 2012-2020 highlights the fact that still in the healthcare system multiple barriers exist for persons with disabilities.³⁷ Also, it is mentioned that the measures in the National Action Plan do not entirely refer to a social understanding of disability represented in the UN CRPD.³⁸

“In addition to this critical evaluation, and although Austria has a generally high standard of healthcare provisions, the Austrian Disability Council argues that weak points and deficits exist with regard to persons with disabilities. In this context, it mentions still existing multiple forms of barriers,³⁹ like denial of necessary and timely medical support, and also the fact that a number of benefits are not compulsory benefits which can be claimed (Pflichtleistungen im Anspruchsweg) but voluntary benefits which often are not provided.⁴⁰

“In CSR 1 on p. 7 in the 2020 CSR for Austria, it is argued that Austria should improve ‘the resilience of the health system by strengthening public health and primary care.’ It is important that Austria will take action in 2020 and 2021 to improve access to healthcare for persons with disabilities which were not addressed and/or provided (see above) explicitly during the last years and also are not addressed now during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Regarding healthcare (see 2020 NRP for Austria, p. 14), the Austrian country report for the evaluation of the EDS for Austria⁴¹ points to the challenges regarding the rehabilitation allowance in the context of the so-called invalidity pension new. Invalidity pension new is only for permanent invalidity, not for persons with temporary invalidity. Persons eligible for the invalidity pension new need a certain minimum insurance period in Austria which depends on the age of the person and the denied access to the rehabilitation allowance for persons who are perceived as ‘unfit to work’. No legal entitlement exists for receiving medical and vocational rehabilitation allowance at the same time.”

Source: Ursula Naue and Petra Plieger, European Semester 2020-2021 country fiche on disability equality: Austria, Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2021.

Health Systems Facts is a project of the Real Reporting Foundation. We provide reliable statistics and other data from authoritative sources regarding health systems in the US and sixteen other nations.

Page last updated Nov. 11, 2022 by Doug McVay, Editor.