Psychotherapeutische Versorgung in Österreich: Kassenfinanzierte Psychotherapie für Menschen mit chronisch psychischen Erkrankungen im Jahresvergleich 2017 bis 2020

Outpatient psychotherapeutic care (private practice) in Austria is regulated financially through the cost subsidy regulation and health insurance funded psychotherapy hours. The present study examines the proportion of self-financed and health insurance funded psychotherapy units between the years 2017–2020, considering the socio-economic-/disease- and treatment related status of patients. A sample of 6387 inpatients with a mental illness was surveyed during inpatient treatment. The majority (70%) of inpatients had suffered from a mental illness for more than two years and had previously received inpatient (46%) or outpatient (82%) psychotherapeutic treatment. Of the patients with prior outpatient psychotherapeutic treatment, 45% received a health insurance funded psychotherapy. Of the patients who self-financed psychotherapy, the majority of patients (72%) paid up to € 100 for psychotherapeutic treatment—with 70% of patients who were unable to work prior inpatient treatment and 39% of patients whose monthly income is less than € 1000. The study data also show that the number of patients who have been able to use health insurance funded psychotherapy has not increased since 2017. The present study illustrates that the use of outpatient psychotherapy and health insurance funded psychotherapy amongst patients with chronic mental illnesses remained unchanged in the last four years, despite the increase in the health insurance subsidy in 2018 and any increases in health insurance funded psychotherapy hours. Given the limited health insurance funded psychotherapy hours, a transparent system for the allocation of health insurance funded psychotherapy hours is required to enable the use of outpatient psychotherapy for all patients with chronic mental illnesses.