# Health issues and moving to Germany



## Rgc (Jan 14, 2013)

My husband is looking at taking a position in Germany. We will live in Stuttgart and I was wondering if anyone can share information about possible healthcare. I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and will need to be able to continue very expensive medications. Right now my insurance pays for it, no questions asked. I've read that you have to have private insurance if you make more than $51,000 euros. I'm sure that will be the case and I don't know anything about private insurance in Germany. We will receive help from his companies HR department, but I'm interested in any info or experiences shared. 

Thank you!


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## James3214 (Jun 25, 2009)

You better check whether the company has their own public scheme which you can join. If he is a salaried employee of the company they will probably have a public health insurance where the cost is split between the employer and the employee. If you are earning more than 51k you can join a private one although I don't believe it is compulsory.
You will have to declare your condition when you join up but if you do want to take private health insurance, shop around as the premiums vary considerably. Glad to hear the companies HR dept are able to help out though..that's not always the case!


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## Kaia (Jan 16, 2012)

Rgc,

As far as I know, what James says is correct: Private insurance is not compulsory. It does cost more if you earn above a certain amount.
You don't mention what medication you take (and it wouldn't mean anything to me if you did  ). The way public insurance works is that "standard treatments" are paid for generously. Doctors ARE required to stay within a certain budget with the meds they prescribe and are thus under financial pressure to prescribe generics. If you need a certain brand, you might have trouble.

If the medication you take is the approved treatment, you'll have no trouble. If not (this can be the case with homeopathic treatment, among other things), you should shop around for a private insurance company that will cover it.

From your data I'm not clear on whether you're already in Germany or not. Sorry if I've repeated stuff you already know.

All the best,
Kaia


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## ALKB (Jan 20, 2012)

Rgc said:


> My husband is looking at taking a position in Germany. We will live in Stuttgart and I was wondering if anyone can share information about possible healthcare. I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and will need to be able to continue very expensive medications. Right now my insurance pays for it, no questions asked. I've read that you have to have private insurance if you make more than $51,000 euros. I'm sure that will be the case and I don't know anything about private insurance in Germany. We will receive help from his companies HR department, but I'm interested in any info or experiences shared.
> 
> Thank you!


Private insurance is not required but it might be cheaper.


Public health insurance:

- directly debited from salary, employer pays half the premium
- non-working family members are insured for free
- no doctor's bills
- prescription charges are € 5 per prescription
- if you need to visit a doctor, you have to pay a fee of € 10 per quarter (Visit your GP for instance and if you need a specialist in the same quarter get a free referral from your GP's receptionist. Or go directly to the specialist and get the referrals from there.)
- no health assessment


Private health insurance:

- low premiums while you are young and healthy (but that seems to be changing now, private insurance is getting more expensive)
- it might be easier to get specialist appointments (although I never had to wait long on public insurance)
- you might be required to pay the bills first and then the insurance will reimburse you, depends on the individual insurance
- it might be extremely difficult to switch from private to public


It depends a bit on how long you are planning to stay in Germany. If it's just for a year or so, private insurance might cost you less. If you are planning to settle in Germany for the long term, public health insurance could be the safer option. (The thought of doctor's bills terrifies me, personally. Haven't seen one in my entire life.)

You can always have specific private health insurance policies to 'top up' the public insurance, if you want homeopathic treatments and such, for example.


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## vronchen (Jan 26, 2012)

ALKB said:


> Private insurance is not required but it might be cheaper.
> 
> 
> Public health insurance:
> ...


Just an update, you don't have to pay the 10 Euro per quarter year any more.


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## Punk (Jan 23, 2013)

hey, I am living in Berlin for some months. But as I am visiting my country all the time. I was using my health insurance in UK and didn't search anything here..
Can you give me some information about making an insurance in Berlin?


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