Annual household out-of-pocket payment, current USD per capita (2018): $978

Source: Global Health Expenditure Database. Health expenditure series. Geneva: World Health Organization. Last accessed Jan. 12, 2021.

Out-of-Pocket Spending as Share of Final Household Consumption (%) (2017): 4.0%

Source: OECD (2019), Health at a Glance 2019: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/4dd50c09-en.

“SHI [Social Health Insurance] generally covers the vast majority of benefit costs but there are costsharing requirements for several categories of benefits and these requirements differ between SHI funds. Cost-sharing requirements are the main area of variation in coverage between SHI funds (Hofmarcher and Quentin, 2013). For example, there are co-payments for hospital stays, for services from non-contracted providers and for prescription medicines. However, the level of user charges differs by SHI fund and numerous exemption mechanisms exist for poorer households. In 2015, cost-sharing amounted to 2.1% of current health expenditure or 12% of total OOP expenditure (see section 3.4).”

Source: Bachner F, Bobek J, Habimana K, Ladurner J, Lepuschütz L, Ostermann H, Rainer L, Schmidt A E, Zuba M, Quentin W, Winkelmann J. Austria: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2018; 20(3): 1 – 256.

“SHI contributions are based on income and not on health risks. Contribution rates are determined by law and can only be changed by the Austrian Parliament. The contribution rate amounted to 7.65% of employment-based income or income (also called the contribution base) for the majority of the contributing population in 2017. The contribution rate is nearly equally shared between employers and employees: 50.6% (contribution rate of 3.87% of income) are paid by the employee and 49.4% (contribution rate of 3.78% of income) by the employer. Lower contribution rates apply to civil servants (7.635%) and pensioners (5.1%). SHI contributions for certain population groups (e.g. the unemployed) are financed from general tax revenues.

“SHI funds collect contributions independently. Employers pay SHI contributions, including both the employers’ and the employees’ share, to one of the 18 SHI funds. The federal state pays the employer contribution for pensioners (through pension insurance) and for the unemployed (HVB, 2016b).

“SHI contributions are capped. In 2018, contributions increased proportionally up to a base salary or wage threshold of €5,130 per month for employees (plus annual bonus payments of €10,260). This means that the maximum SHI contribution was €392.44 per month (Allgemeines Sozialversicherungsgesetz, 1955). For self-employed and farmers the maximum income threshold on which to pay contributions was set at €5,985, and the maximum SHI contribution was €457.86 per month (HVB, 2017g). However, it must be mentioned that the annual maximum amount of SHI contributions are equal for employees and self-employed/farmers due to the 13th month or 14th month bonus payments for employees.”

Source: Bachner F, Bobek J, Habimana K, Ladurner J, Lepuschütz L, Ostermann H, Rainer L, Schmidt A E, Zuba M, Quentin W, Winkelmann J. Austria: Health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 2018; 20(3): 1 – 256.

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 several other nations.

Page last updated March 25, 2021 by Doug McVay, Editor.