0
0
Now that amalgam fillings will be banned at the end of the year, the struggle to find a free alternative is proving tedious. An agreement was reached just before Christmas, but not for all patients in the country.
While no solution has yet been found with the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK), the Insurance Institution for Public Employees, Railways, and Mining (BVAEB) and the Dental Association have now agreed on amalgam fillings.
From 1 January 2025, filling materials, glass ionomer cement, and alkalies will be covered by health insurance instead of amalgam, which will be banned then.
The negotiations were “long and intensive,” according to a statement from the Dental Association on Friday. The tariffs are now based on the previous amalgam replacement tariff for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and children up to 15. Composite in the posterior region remains a private service, it said.
In the coming year, BVAEB and the Austrian Dental Association (ÖZÄK) will also discuss revising and modernizing the existing fee schedule, with a particular focus on root canal treatment, oral hygiene, consultations, and denture repairs.
In its press release, the Chamber of Dentists appeals to the ÖGK and the Social Insurance for the Self-Employed (SVS): The agreement could also be “a blueprint for other health insurance providers.” According to the chamber, only stone cement is covered by the contract for normal fillings in the posterior region for its insured members. In contrast, glass ionomer cement is only covered by health insurance for pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and children up to 15. All other materials are private services. The ÖZÄK is “always available” for discussions.
Dentists fear for their income
The ÖGK has not yet reached an agreement with the ÖZÄK. The health insurance fund would have been prepared to pay 20 percent more than before for amalgam-free fillings. However, it is pushing the relatively new white material Alkasit, which has been tried and tested in outpatient clinics. The Dental Association, on the other hand, only wanted to accept the technically inferior glass ionomer cement as free for patients; everything else should be a private service from the point of view of the professional association.
At the beginning of December, ÖGK chairman Andreas Huss expressed his anger and announced that he would offer dentists individual contracts bypassing the chamber.
ÖGK wants to resume negotiations quickly
In reaching an agreement with the BVAEB, the Austrian Dental Association had “given up its medically incomprehensible blockade stance on Alkasit as a high-quality amalgam substitute,” according to the ÖGK, which stated in a press release that this was a positive signal. The professional association should resume talks with the social insurance.
Currently, amalgam-free fillings are available at the 61 dental health centers owned by the insurance companies at the expense of the health insurance companies. In addition, agreements on tariffs have been reached with private dental clinics. As of January 1, insured persons in nine outpatient clinics in Vienna will thus also receive fillings at health insurance costs.
This post has already been read 1895 times!
