The kindergarten and after-school care provider KIWI – Children in Vienna demands that health insurance companies continue to support mobile speech therapy in kindergartens and after-school care centers
Vienna (OTS) – Around two years ago, on January 1, 2022, the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) stopped providing financial support for mobile speech therapy when a new framework agreement came into force. According to reports, smaller health insurance companies could also follow suit in the future. The private Viennese kindergarten and after-school provider Children in Vienna (KIWI) is viewing this development with great concern.
“The effects of the ÖGK decision are more serious than expected and cannot be further compensated by us and certainly by other providers. More and more children are falling behind in their development because speech therapy services are more difficult for parents to access.”
says Thomas-Peter Gerold-Siegl, MBA, managing director and economic director of KIWI. “We therefore strongly demand that mobile speech therapists continue to have the opportunity to offer diagnostics and therapy directly in kindergartens and after-school care centers in the future – and this at the expense of the health insurance companies.”
“Language development plays a crucial role in early childhood education. By working with mobile speech therapists in kindergartens and after-school care centers, we create comprehensive and individual support for the holistic development of our children.”
says Mag.a Gudrun Kern, managing director and educational director of KIWI. “Investing in the language development of our children pays off in the long term and promotes equal educational opportunities for everyone.”
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The loss of coverage for mobile speech therapists means that families in need of speech therapy have to visit the practice of speech therapists at their own expense and with enormous waiting times – an insurmountable hurdle in terms of time and money for many families. KIWI is therefore calling on those responsible to ensure that health insurance companies cover the costs of mobile speech therapy so that speech therapists can continue to work on site in kindergartens in the future and families are relieved of the financial burden.
Creating equal opportunities through financial relief is also a key goal of the current petition “Elementary education is worth MORE,” which is co-sponsored by KIWI, as Kern and Gerold-Siegl emphasize. The signature campaign, organized by the EduCare and Network Elementary Education Austria associations and supported by a number of other providers and organizations, aims to achieve a sustainable improvement in the educational policy framework for elementary education. Signing is via the website www.kindergartenbraucht.at possible.
Children in Vienna (KIWI) is a private sponsoring association that currently operates kindergartens and after-school care centers at 92 locations in Vienna. KIWI currently has around 1,700 employees who support around 8,000 children between the ages of one and ten on their educational journey.
Questions & Contact:
Mag. (FH) Roman Gerold, Bakk.phil.
Public relations employee
0664/886 89 025
r.gerold@kinderinwien.at
www.kinderinwien.at