Doctors, insurance and emergencies in Vienna

How you get covered

For an employee this is not an application. The employer registers you with the Österreichische Gesundheitskasse, a social insurance number is issued, and the e-card arrives by post. You hand the e-card over at every appointment, and its reverse side is the European Health Insurance Card. ÖGK is at Wienerbergstraße 15-19, 1100 Wien, on +43 5 0766-0, with a doctor and pharmacy finder at oegk.at/vaso and appointment booking and Wahlarzt invoice submission through the Meine ÖGK app.

• There is an annual e-card service fee and a per-item prescription charge with an income-related annual cap; both are revalued every January, so get the current amounts from ÖGK on +43 5 0766-0.

Arriving without cover

Voluntary self-insurance in the statutory system costs €565.25 a month in 2026, and it carries a six-month waiting period before benefits begin. The wait is waived if you had six weeks of continuous prior cover, or 26 weeks within the past twelve months, under ASVG or an equivalent scheme. Cover starts immediately if you apply within six weeks of previous cover ending, and otherwise from the day after you apply. Applications go to the Österreichische Gesundheitskasse, and a reduction can be applied for on hardship grounds, effective immediately if you request it with the application.

• Self-insurance buys benefits in kind — treatment, hospital care and medicines — but no cash benefits such as sick pay.
• Do not let a gap open between leaving one scheme and joining the next; six weeks is the line that decides whether you wait half a year.

Kassenarzt or Wahlarzt

The distinction runs through the whole system. A Kassenarzt has a contract with your insurer, so you show the e-card and pay nothing. A Wahlarzt has no contract, so you settle the bill in full and submit it for partial reimbursement afterwards. Shorter waiting times are why people pay for a Wahlarzt, and there is no verified figure for what a private consultation in Vienna typically costs, so ask the practice for the price before you book.

Emergencies and out-of-hours

Ring 144 for an ambulance or 112 for the European emergency number, which covers ambulance, fire and police. Outside surgery hours, 141 reaches the Ärztefunkdienst, the doctor on call in the evenings and at weekends, and 1450 is the health advice line for when you are not sure whether you need a doctor at all. The poisons centre is +43 1 406 43 43. Vienna's public hospitals are run by the Wiener Gesundheitsverbund and are listed at gesundheitsverbund.at/kliniken.