# Health insurance for HIV+ student



## gustavoc_92 (Nov 13, 2017)

Hi everyone, I'm a physician, have 25 years old and I'm considering doing my specialty in germany, I want to start doing all my paper work but I'm afraid about my HIV status because I don't know if I'm gonna be able to get the public health insurance so I can have the medicine that I need.

Any of you guys know if there is any chance of being denied of the public health insurance because the HIV satus?


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## beppi (Jun 10, 2013)

In another post (which I also replied to) you say you want to enter the priave health insurance scheme. (?!?)

The publkic insurance cannot reject you for pre-existing conditions, nor can they exclude coverage for them.
If you are eligible to join them, all necessary treatment is covered and you pay only the standard premiums of approx. 90€/month as undergraduate und 170€/month as postgraduate.
Please note that foreign postgraduate and PhD students are not always eligible to join the public health insurance scheme.


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## lenaolsen (Jan 30, 2018)

beppi said:


> In another post (which I also replied to) you say you want to enter the priave health insurance scheme. (?!?)
> 
> The publkic insurance cannot reject you for pre-existing conditions, nor can they exclude coverage for them.
> If you are eligible to join them, all necessary treatment is covered and you pay only the standard premiums of approx. 90€/month as undergraduate und 170€/month as postgraduate.
> Please note that foreign postgraduate and PhD students are not always eligible to join the public health insurance scheme.



In theory, it should be that way, but what I see in the reality is that the public insurances cover very small part of medical services, as of today. 

It really depends on what kind of insurance you go for. The more expensive it is, the more treatments you get covered. 

For example, my public insurance covers really a lot, even the dentist. Slightly cheaper insurance of my fellow colleague does not even cover her diabetes medicine (which is an absolute necessity for her).


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## beppi (Jun 10, 2013)

lenaolsen said:


> In theory, it should be that way, but what I see in the reality is that the public insurances cover very small part of medical services, as of today.
> 
> It really depends on what kind of insurance you go for. The more expensive it is, the more treatments you get covered.
> 
> For example, my public insurance covers really a lot, even the dentist. Slightly cheaper insurance of my fellow colleague does not even cover her diabetes medicine (which is an absolute necessity for her).


All medically necessary treatment and medication is covered by the public insurance. This definitely includes dental treatment (they cover basic treatment like fillings - for luxuries like inlays or crowns you pay the difference to fillings as co-payment) and diabetes medication (there is a €5 co-payment per prescription, and you may only get generics if they are cheaper).
A private insurance - where you can choose from a wide range of plans and often (but not always) the more you pay the more you get - might have such exclusions and surcharges.


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## lenaolsen (Jan 30, 2018)

beppi said:


> All medically necessary treatment and medication is covered by the public insurance. This definitely includes dental treatment (they cover basic treatment like fillings - for luxuries like inlays or crowns you pay the difference to fillings as co-payment) and diabetes medication (there is a €5 co-payment per prescription, and you may only get generics if they are cheaper).
> A private insurance - where you can choose from a wide range of plans and often (but not always) the more you pay the more you get - might have such exclusions and surcharges.


This does not describe my personal experience though. Additionally, I have been told that it also depends on which state of Germany you live in.


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## beppi (Jun 10, 2013)

lenaolsen said:


> This does not describe my personal experience though. Additionally, I have been told that it also depends on which state of Germany you live in.


All health insurers are active Germany-wide and the same regulations apply throughout.
Your experiences probably base on misunderstandings (which are unfortunately common in this very complicated and buerocratic field).


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