News from Austria and Switzerland

An Article in some big Austrian News Platforms:
(Translated first bit, PVA= Pensions basically)

ME/CFS AND POST-COVID

Hardly Any Chance of PVA Support


The number of people suffering from ME/CFS has increased significantly since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. For those affected, it is particularly difficult to receive care benefits or a disability pension from the Pensions Insurance Institution (PVA). A joint investigation by ORF, Dossier, and APA reveals serious deficiencies in how the PVA assesses applications. In response, the PVA refers to legal regulations.
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https://orf.at/stories/3392681/

https://bsky.app/profile/constanzeertl.bsky.social/post/3lonetxkv3c2k
 
Treatment of ME/CFS and Post-Covid Patients: Criticism of PVA
https://www.vol.at/treatment-of-me-cfs-and-post-covid-patients-criticism-of-pva/9387500

Following investigations by APA, ORF, and Dossier into the issues faced by ME/CFS and Post-Covid sufferers with the Pension Insurance Institution, politicians are calling for changes. The SPÖ is planning reforms for rehabilitation money and disability pensions. The Greens find it shocking that patients are often denied benefits.
 
That seems very positive.

"Shocked" by the findings of the investigations by APA, ORF, and the research platform Dossier, the Green health spokesperson Ralph Schallmeiner stated: "The PVA's task is to take care of the insured, not to harass them. And he could not describe the now publicly revealed cases of ME/CFS as anything other than "systematic harassment," he said in a statement. It is "incomprehensible how people who are already massively suffering from their illnesses are additionally burdened by bureaucratic or medical hurdles." Schallmeiner calls on the PVA to fundamentally rethink its approach to chronically ill patients and to adapt to the current state of science.
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Ombudsman Bernhard Achitz (SPÖ) also agreed, reiterating in a statement his criticism of the PVA's approach to assessments, which he had already expressed the day before on ORF. "From the PVA, but especially from the Social Ministry Service SMS (where the degree of disability is determined, note), I expect that the experts are better trained." It is also about the "fundamental approach": The experts could "give more credence to the patients and the findings. Many, however, feel treated more as potential malingerers," criticized Achitz, who also insisted on home visits during assessments, which are almost always denied by the PVA.
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Former Health Minister Rudolf Anschober (Greens), who serves as an advisor on the board of the We&Me Foundation, which is committed to researching ME/CFS, advocated for binding guidelines. "The federal government must ensure that the (very good National Action Plan presented last year, note) is quickly adopted by all parts of the fragmented healthcare system," Anschober explained in a statement to the APA. This could create binding guidelines for everyone - "including for states and the PVA." "Only in this way can the highly necessary progress for many affected finally be achieved more quickly."
 
I think our members from Switzerland should be aware of Regina Kunz.

Regina Kunz is a key figure associated with Cochrane, specifically known for her work in Cochrane Insurance Medicine. She is the founder and director of this unit, which focuses on applying evidence-based medicine principles to insurance and disability evaluations. Kunz's work emphasizes the importance of rigorous methodology, including the use of Cochrane reviews, to ensure reliable and consistent assessments in these areas.
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According to the affiliation reported on a recent study she co-authored with a finding that helps the insurance industry dismiss people's claims of having a debilitating health condition, Kunz is based in Basel, Switzerland.
 
Yann04 said:
Can’t wait to see her as the consultant on my disability evaluation. Half kidding, not really, switzerland is a small country.
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The beauty of using Cochrane as the messenger of an ideology that is useful to the insurance industry (at least in the short term) is that it doesn't matter what consultant you get to do your disability evaluation, in Switzerland or anywhere. Most can be relied on to have absorbed the Larun et al story and the story about all the people who just want the secondary benefits of chronic illness, and will probably see you in that light.
 

Königsberger-Ludwig announces ME/CFS project group​

27.06.2025 18:59
Online since today, 6:59 p.m.

The Federal Target Steering Commission, which deals with the topic of health, intends to launch a project group on post-acute infectious syndromes (PAIS) such as Long Covid and ME/CFS and the associated National Action Plan (NAP).

Decisions are to be made by the end of 2025 at the latest so that the plan can be adopted by the commission, which includes representatives from the federal government, the states and the social insurance system, said State Secretary for Health Ulrike Königsberger-Ludwig (SPÖ) today.

In May, it was announced that the National Action Plan (NAP), drafted under former Green Health Minister Johannes Rauch, would be revised again. According to the government program, this plan would be used to expand care structures for ME/CFS.

Following the NAP's resolution, "truly relevant care facilities" will be created, said the State Secretary. The lack of specialized treatment centers has been widely criticized in the past.
 
BÖP comes into the light of long-ignored disease
www.ots.at

BÖP rückt lang ignorierte Erkrankung ins Licht

ME/CFS verdient mehr Bewusstsein im Gesundheitssystem
www.ots.at www.ots.at
(BÖP is the association of Austrian psychologists)

It is important that ME/CFS is not a psychosomatic disease – yet psychological support is central. Clinical psychologists make an important contribution to diagnosis, for example by creating findings with which mental illnesses can be excluded as a cause or cognitive impairments can be objectively recorded. Symporbid mental illnesses can also be identified and adequately considered in this way. In the professional context, clinical-psychological diagnostics supports in determining individual stress limits and identifying suitable fields of work or rehabilitation.
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The basis of any effective support is the recognition of ME/CFS as a serious physical illness. “Especially in such moments, people need a counterpart who listens, validates and gives support,” emphasizes a.o. Univ.-Prof. Dr.in Beate Wimmer-Puchinger. “Psychologs have exactly what specialists, empathy and an understanding of individual life situations.”
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I can't say I agree that psychological support is, frankly, of any importance, I can't even think of a reason for myself, but simply saying that it's not psychosomatic is, well, it's accurate, so there's that. Still, it's not the psychologists that are the problem, so I don't know how much influence this will have.
 
Anschober sees "dramatic neglect" of ME/CFS
www.sn.at

Anschober sieht bei ME/CFS "dramatische Vernachlässigung"

Österreichs ehemaliger Gesundheitsminister Rudolf Anschober (Grüne) sieht bei der Multisystemerkrankung ME/CFS eine "dramatische Vernachlässigung" - und das seit Jahrzehnten. Medizin, Wissenschaft und Gesundheitspolitik müssten nun "ihre Verantwortung wahrnehmen", sagte er im APA-Interview. 2026...
www.sn.at www.sn.at

Austria's former Health Minister Rudolf Anschober (Green Party) sees a "dramatic neglect" of the multisystem disease ME/CFS – and this has been the case for decades. Medicine, science, and health policy must now "assume their responsibility," he said in an APA interview. 2026 must be a "year of solutions and implementation." The "first priority" is the establishment of treatment centers, including for children. And an EU research initiative is needed.
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The fact that a National Action Plan for Post-Viral Syndromes, developed last year by former Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens) in collaboration with all stakeholders, has still not been implemented and is now undergoing further revision, is a source of pain for the former politician. He expects rapid action by the end of the year, as announced by State Secretary for Health Ulrike Königsberger-Ludwig (SPÖ): "2026 must be the year of solution and implementation – the states now also bear a strong responsibility in this regard."
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"There should be something like a European research focus on ME-CFS," said Anschober. "Lauterbach speaks of a billion euros being needed in Germany. The issue is similar in all member states of the European Union." And it would "make sense" to pool this together – and also to hold the pharmaceutical industry "responsible," especially at a time "when US President (Donald Trump, ed.) is endangering and destroying research structures in the US."
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Anschober criticized the decades-long practice of misinterpreting ME/CFS as a mental illness – something that sufferers still often face today. "I experience it as the worst form of non-recognition, of not being taken seriously." It is a "multiplication of personal catastrophe" when those affected by this "catastrophic illness" not only have to fear for social security, but are also not taken seriously by some medically.

"A system of shifting responsibility has emerged in recent decades. And that must be broken." Anschober condemns the fact that isolated scientific voices continue to interpret the decision of severely afflicted patients to seek euthanasia as evidence of a psychological origin of the illness: "Suicide is, after all, a cry of despair—and exploiting it is a low-level approach."
 
The fact that, despite the clarification of the physical genesis of the disease, there are repeated attempts to classify the disease differently – psychologically – is likely due to the mistakes of the past: "I believe that an incredible number of people find it difficult to accept their shared responsibility for the past." This often also applies to politics: "We don't have a culture of accepting mistakes," Anschober said. It is "incredibly difficult" for those in positions of responsibility when dogmas are broken – but that is "part of a new culture that we need."

"And that's why it might not be a good idea to focus too much on the old men who spread these theories. Instead, let's listen to these many female scientists who very clearly define the state of research," he said, referring to the two directors of the reference center. The world of old men—"I'm one of them now, too"—is "slowly disintegrating."
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Yeah, sure, let them get away with state sanctioned human rights violations because the perpetrators won’t like being held accountable.

And its not like the females are automatically better scientists - just look at Crawley, Landmark, Reme, Flottorp, Rørtveit, O’Sullivan, etc.

Edit: to be clear, there is a lot of things right with the statement. I still think this part was very disappointing. How does he think that we’ll be able to move forward when the perpetrators are still in charge? It’s naive in my mind.
 
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Yeah, it's a tough balance. We should be ignoring them, for now, they will never contribute anything, but we can't, because many of them are highly influential and doing everything they can do to sabotage things for us, so we don't have the luxury. For sure the research aspect can 100% ignore it, it's the rest where we can't: the politics, and the justice that will need to be metered once things change.

I can still appreciate the dig. It's a nice dig. But what these people have wrought can't be water under the bridge, and we still have to fight them every step of the way until they are made irrelevant.
 
There must be accountability. Letting those responsible for this grotesque catastrophe just slink away quietly into a comfortable retirement is totally unacceptable. All that will do is let it happen again to another group of innocent victims. See FND.
 
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