Everything you need to know about health insurance in Germany.. Which is more beneficial: private or public?
Life in Germany requires that a person be subscribed to the health insurance system, even for short periods of stay, which is a condition for issuing a residence card in the country.
Health insurance in Germany is characterized by a dual system consisting of statutory health insurance (gesetzliche Krankenversicherung GKV) and private health insurance (Krankenversicherung). Statutory health insurance is available to everyone, while private health insurance requires special conditions to obtain it.
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Life in Germany requires that a person be subscribed to the health insurance system, even for short periods of stay, which is a condition for issuing a residence card in the country.
Private medical insurance is characterized by providing more comprehensive services that take into account individual needs, such as providing advanced dental treatment and other benefits compared to government insurance, for example.
Public health insurance in Germany, in which nearly 90 percent of the country's population is registered, covers several basic areas, including basic services, a hospital ward, dentistry, medical examinations and treatment expenses. If you earn more than €64,350 per year, or are self-employed, you have the option to switch to private German health insurance.
Thelocal.de website mentioned in an article that many reasons may prompt many people to choose private insurance in general.
The news site stated that the insurance premiums you pay for private health insurance are calculated based on a variety of factors:
B - Your current health condition. The older you get, the more likely you are to overpay
C- When obtaining private insurance, the subscription fees will certainly be large compared to government insurance.
The article added, “If you suddenly become afflicted with a serious or chronic illness, you may find that there are large additional fees to account for the risks resulting from the illness in the context of obtaining private health insurance,” explaining that there are cases in which your application may be “rejected” if your health condition faces imminent dangers. .
When you consider the fact that none of us are able to slow down our aging, you can imagine that it can cost a lot of money when you start experiencing more health problems over the years.
Having private health insurance means you can 'lock in' your premiums based on your current health condition, meaning it should cost less if you suddenly become seriously ill.
While statutory public health insurance is generally very good when it comes to covering basic treatments, you will find that some of your favorite medicines or treatments may not be covered by the insurance or require hefty copayments.
You may also find that some treatments you consider necessary, such as vaccines, hearing aids as well as certain types of therapy, are not covered and you have to pay out of pocket. Also, “preventive medical care” is not covered by statutory public health insurance to some extent, meaning that you do not benefit from coverage for preventive treatments for a disease. While the private insurance company enables you to obtain preventive examinations, such as
mammograms for women.
