However, at the Anton Proksch Institute, which according to ORF is 40 percent owned by a foundation that includes the City of Vienna, the Trade Union Federation and the Chamber of Labor, City Councilor for Health Peter Hacker (SPÖ) waves off the idea. “The City of Vienna will not take over Vamed’s shares. This has been agreed with the union,” Hacker was quoted as saying in the ZIB.
The Anton Proksch Institute is an addiction clinic in Vienna. The operating company is 60 percent owned by Vamed and 40 percent by a foundation with participation from the city. The city could take over the Vamed shares under certain conditions, as it has a right of first refusal, according to ZIB.
Pressure on employees or deterioration in quality
ÖGK chairman Andreas Huss expressed concern at a public staff meeting on Tuesday in front of the Anton Proksch Institute that the takeover by the investment fund PAI could increase the burden on employees and make services more expensive for taxpayers. After all, PAI has no affinity with health care and wants to sell again after a few years at a profit. These profits can only be achieved by putting pressure on employees or by a deterioration in quality, it was argued.
A non-profit solution is therefore required. Facilities with unique selling points such as the Anton Proksch Institute addiction treatment center or the children’s rehabilitation center in St. Veit im Pongau should be taken over jointly by the federal states, social insurance and the states or by non-profit companies.
