Kostelka: Attendance Allowance
Attendance Allowance
The 84-years-old Ms. N.N. has been living alone in her apartment since her husband passed away three years ago. Two years ago, she was diagnosed with a tumour in her abdomen and since June 2010, the state of her health declined rapidly. With the progression of her cancer, the complications are increasing. Up to now, she has been looked after only by her daughter who is completing a caregiver training funded by the job centre AMS and is currently looking for a job.
Ms. N.N. receives a small widow’s pension and an attendance allowance level 2. However with this money, constant care cannot be financed. To receive an allowance for 24-hour-care, the daughter was told that at least level 3 is required. The district commission also rejected her claim: for in-patient care, level 4 is needed; Ms. N.N.’s family will have to find a way to finance the 24-hour-care at home on their own.
Therefore, her daughter filed a petition for the increase of the attendance allowance. This petition was rejected in August by the insurance institution of civil servants, even though the hospital of Neunkirchen explicitly recommended 24-hour-care.
N.N.’s daughter was desperate and turned to the Austrian Ombudsman Board (AOB) for help. The AOB advised her to file another petition – with success. In the broadcast of “Advocate for the People”, a representative of the insurance institution for civil servants reported on a new expert assessment, which indicates that the attendance allowance level 5 can be recognised, starting September 1. The grading of August will also be re-examined due to the rapid decline of the patient’s state of health.
Ombudsman Kostelka criticised the quality of the expert assessments regarding attendance allowances: “This case is a good example. In only 26 days, an increase from level 2 to level 5 was confirmed. This is a change from 82 to 180 hours of care – such deterioration is hardly possible. The office of the Ombudsman found twice as many cases of maladministration in this department than in others. I can only advise persons concerned not to accept levels that are too low. In the first assessment the expert correctly observed that Ms. N.N. is partly mobile, however he did not take into account her dementia and incontinence.”
For years, Ombudsman Kostelka has been pushing for more support to relatives in such difficult situations and to relieve them from visits to government agencies. Furthermore, it is important to make the process of decision-making easier in order to guarantee for a suitable care at home.
Re-examination: Finding a Post-partner
In 2002, a post office in Marchegg was closed. In March 2009, the Post AG started to plan the closing of the last remaining post office despite a signature campaign where more than 2,000 citizens of Marchegg expressed their concern, leaving them without any post office -. In August 2009, the shutdown was finally confirmed and a plumbing company was to take over as a post partner. But soon after, the contract was cancelled. The local plumber deemed the job too cost- and work-intensive. By the end of March 2010, 3,600 citizens had lost their post office and their post partner. The closest post office in the neighbouring municipality is 13 kilometres away – an unacceptably long distance
With the post market law taking effect on the 5th of December 2009, the legislator did no set a minimum number of post offices to be run by the Post AG. But even in outlying rural municipalities, a post office (or post partner) has to be reachable within maximally 10,000 metres for 90 % of the inhabitants. Therefore, as Ombudsman Kostelka already pointed out in June 2010, “the ball is in Post AG’s court which, as a universal service provider, has to take special care to fulfil their duties as required by law”.
At the end of August 2010, the Post AG found a new partner: the tobacconist in Marchegg. However Ombudsman Kostelka does not give the all-clear signal: “It is important to remind the Post AG of its obligations required by law as a universal service provider. Since the end of 2009, 490 post offices have been registered to close, in 298 cases the Post-Control-Commission came to a final decision, 250 offices are already closed, 38 cannot be closed according to the authorities.192 post offices are still under review. At the moment, only 880 real post offices are left in Austria, but already 901 post partners. It has to be expected from the Post AG to guarantee the quality of the post partner before installing further post partners. Furthermore they should consider whether after all it made sense to keep significantly more post offices with qualified staff, good quality, and adequate opening hours.