The fact that the introduction of the electronic parent-child passport is now set to be delayed by a further year is, in itself, a cause for serious concern. “However, this lends new weight to the Ombudsman’s call for an interim solution,” says Ombudsman Bernhard Achitz: “For years, the Ombudsman’s Office has criticised the fact that parents lose 1,300 euros in childcare allowance if they have the required medical examinations carried out but forget to send in the confirmation. Or if the confirmation is lost in the post or at the ÖGK.”
The problem would have been avoided if the submission of examination certificates were to take place automatically within the system. “Until the electronic Parent-Child Passport is finally up and running, an interim solution is needed so that parents are not penalised so severely, even though they have had all the mandatory check-ups carried out. Unfortunately, Family Minister Claudia Bauer has so far rejected such an interim solution,” said Achitz.
From the Ombudsman’s report for the year 2024
“The Ombudsman’s efforts to bring about an improvement regarding penalties relating to the Mother-Child Health Record were successful insofar as the introduction of the electronic Parent-Child Health Record was already decided last year (Parent-Child Health Record Act – EKPG, Federal Law Gazette I No. 82/2023). This will enable the necessary examinations of pregnant women and children to be verified fully automatically by health insurance providers. However, this new, electronic method of verification will not come into force until 2026. Until then, parents must submit proof of the examinations to their health insurance provider in paper form by the time the child reaches 18 months of age at the latest. If they miss this deadline, the childcare allowance will be reduced by 1,300 euros (see also PB 2023, volume ‘Control of Public Administration’, p. 87). In 2024, too, a number of affected families contacted the VA. They had all had the check-ups carried out correctly, had only missed the submission deadline by a relatively narrow margin, and had not received the reminder letters sent by the health insurance providers due to various circumstances. One father argued that, for health reasons, he had only been able to arrange the proof of his son’s check-ups at a relatively late stage. He then missed the extended deadline by just one day. To avoid such cases of hardship, the VA recommended the introduction of a transitional provision in the EKPG until 2026. However, the Minister for Family Affairs rejected this as unnecessary.”
Photo: Pixabay/tungart7 (Tung Lam)