Supplementary Health Insurance & Dental Insurance Germany
If you choose to be state health insured or if you do not meet the criteria to insure yourself or your family privately, you can upgrade your state health insurance through a range of supplementary insurances. The supplementary insurances are designed to fill the gaps, both in treatment and financially, within state health care, making it possible for you to design the cover that suits your needs and wishes. It is possible to achieve almost the same coverage that a private health insurance offers. There is no obligation for you to be granted supplementary cover, and insurance companies will make you answer questions about your state of health.
Gaps in the State Health Care System
Alternative medicine and natural remedies are not a part of the state health system and therefore have to be paid privately. Alternative medicine includes treatment through homeopathy, traditional Chinese medicine and osteopathy.
The costs of dental treatment and prostheses are only partly covered by the state system. The rule is that dental prostheses will be paid for at roughly 50% of the most economic but functional treatment. Should you wish for a higher standard of treatment the costs you have to pay are even higher. For a dental implant, which can cost up to €4000 you have to cover around 80% of the cost.
Visual aids such as glasses and contact lenses are not paid for unless you have a serious eye disorder.
Prescribed medications are solely generics and for these you also have to pay between €5 and €10 per prescription (children excluded).
Check-ups and screenings are limited in form and frequency. Should you wish for better or more frequent care you have to pay for it privately.
There is a system of co-payments in place for items such as prescriptions, external remedies (such as massages), and €10 per day for hospital stays (up to 28 days per year).
In hospital, the state inpatient care consists of multi-bed rooms and the doctor on duty. There are high costs that you will need to cover if you want a single or double room, or to be seen by a senior physician.
The system in place for medical aids (hearing aids, wheel chairs, orthopaedic shoes and stockings, etc.) is similar to the dental system. The state health insurance will cover half of the costs for the most basic and cost effective solution. However, it is doubtful that this would be the solution you would choose.
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Our service partners from MW Expat Solutions are experts in the field of health care insurances for expats in Germany.
As an independent insurance broker, they work together with all the major insurance companies represented on the German market today. This means that MW Expat can help you find the insurance that you need at a good price.
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