"I've been waiting powerless for three months. Please help me!" he appealed in an ORF "Citizens' Advocate" programme at the beginning of March. Now he is back home. "I continue to hope for an indefinite authorisation for intensive care at home so that the period of uncertainty for Günter S. and his family can come to an end," said Ombudsman Bernhard Achitz.
Details on the case of Günter S. can be found here.
The state and health insurance company should work out in the background who pays how much
Those affected repeatedly turn to the Ombudsman Board in such cases. "Thanks to several Supreme Court judgements, it is clear that if those affected do not want to go into a home, but would rather live at home with their families, then the state and social insurance are jointly obliged to finance the expensive intensive care at home," says Ombudsman Bernhard Achitz: "People have a right to be cared for at home. The state and the health insurance fund should make this possible quickly and agree afterwards who will cover how much of the costs. The families of those affected are left with high costs anyway."
Of course, it would make sense if there was a standardised solution for such cases throughout Austria, to which all provinces and all social insurance providers would adhere. But those affected can't wait for that. "I can no longer hear the standard excuse that the federal government should do something. The federal states and the health insurance funds are clearly responsible," says Achitz.
People's lawyer Achitz: Günter S. is allowed to live with his family again - even if only temporarily for the time being.
Picture credits: ORF ON