waiting times can be shortened by arranging to visit the same hospital doctor in a private hospital or clinic. waits are also sometimes illegally shortened in return for legal or illegal additional payments. hospital doctors also receive additional fees to treat privately insured patients even though they are only supposed to receive better amenities/accommodations. they may therefore treat private patients sooner. two austrian health insurance companies advertised low wait times on their web sites. in a survey in lower austria, 8% of respondents said that they were offered shorter waiting times for additional private payments. according to statistics austria, 2007, in thomson & mossialos, 2009, as cited in health systems in transition (hit) profile of austria, 2013, social health insurance patients waited twice as long for cardiac catheterization, and 3-4 times as long for cataract and knee surgery. compared to individuals with private supplementary insurance, those covered by statutory health insurance wait from three to four times as long for cataract operations and knee operations. for cardiac catheterization procedures, statutory insurance patients wait twice as long. some states have created objective waiting list guidelines to counteract this.