Study estimates up to 57,000 people lack health insurance

Up to 57,000 people in Austria may have no health insurance, according to a study commissioned by the Austrian Health Insurance Fund and reported by ORF. The estimate represents as much as 0.6 percent of the resident population at the end of 2024.

Several thousand uninsured people receive care at emergency outpatient clinics, study co-author Martin Schenk, a social affairs expert at Diakonie Austria, said when the findings were presented. In 2025, AmberMed, a health centre in Vienna, treated 2,697 people without insurance. The Marienambulanz clinic in Graz treated 2,221, while the Virgilambulanz clinic in Salzburg treated 96.

The study drew on administrative data from the Association of Austrian Social Insurance Providers and Statistics Austria, as well as interviews with uninsured people at AmberMed, Marienambulanz, Virgilambulanz and Medcare in Innsbruck. Study author Michael Fuchs of the European Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research said the data pointed to “at least several thousand to tens of thousands” of people without coverage.

Researchers said people can lose insurance during difficult circumstances or changes in their status, despite Austria’s broadly comprehensive system. Reasons include insecure employment, severe mental health crises, jobseekers without entitlement to benefits, students, people returning to Austria after an extended stay abroad and people who do not claim social assistance they are entitled to receive. The study described a combination of social disadvantage, gaps in the system, limited personal resources and lack of information.

Fear of medical costs or embarrassment can lead people to delay seeking care. In the survey sample, 28 percent waited at least three months after symptoms first appeared before seeking treatment, while 19 percent waited at least a year.

AmberMed, a joint project between Diakonie and the Austrian Red Cross in Vienna-Liesing, provides access to care and support, Schenk said. Its doctors work without pay on a voluntary basis, including retired physicians and doctors who gained experience at the centre while studying. Partner organisations provide laboratory and X-ray examinations free of charge.

People aged 20 to 24 had the lowest insurance coverage, followed by those aged 25 to 29 and 30 to 34. Uninsured people surveyed generally had very low incomes and limited formal education; many had no more than compulsory schooling. Researchers also noted that many lived alone or faced homelessness or insecure housing. People without Austrian citizenship were more affected, with many coming from EU or other European countries.

For a significant share of those affected, lack of insurance is recurring, with periods of coverage alternating with periods without it. The study authors said health, psychosocial or language barriers can also make it difficult for people to claim benefits on their own.