Expat Medical Insurance

Expat guide to Germany: health care

It all dates back to Otto von Bismarck, the “Iron Chancellor” who established Germany’s social welfare system in the 1870s. He was reported to have said it was immoral to benefit from sickness, and that “insurance should be on the mutual principle (so that the healthy pay as much as the sick) and no dividends or profits should be derived by private persons”.

One could argue that these high-minded principles exist more in the imagination than reality. But Bismarck’s broad idea of a range of statutory health insurers, independent of providers, competing against each other, holds good. Insurers (also known as sick funds or mutuals) are financed by contributions from employers and employees.

The “Bismarck system” operates across most of Europe, including Austria, Netherlands, France and Switzerland, all with well-rated healthcare. The NHS’s “Beveridge system,” free at point of use and taxpayer funded, may be much loved by the British people, but arguably does not match the Bismarck system in medical outcomes and aspects of patient satisfaction.

In Germany, you don’t wait 18 weeks from referral for joint replacement. Equally, “Bismarck” countries largely avoided the high hospital infection rates in NHS units in the Noughties.

Waits in Germany remain close to nonexistent – even if economic pressures apply, as with all Western countries with ageing populations. And care for the chronic sick and elderly is regarded as far better than in Britain. If you suffer cancer or need certain operations, your insurer may have to pay for a lengthy stay at a salubrious “rehab centre” in the Black Forest. That is not in the NHS book.

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR

With Germany spending 11 per cent of its (considerable) GDP on healthcare, one would expect good health outcomes. They are respectable, with life expectancy at 77 for men and 83 for women. The yardstick of a nation’s healthcare efficiency, infant mortality, is four per 1,000 live births, a satisfactory figure for a country with high numbers of less well-off immigrants.

GERMANY FEELS THE SQUEEZE

The German state is as vulnerable as the UK, America or other European states to the problems of mounting healthcare bills. Indeed, it is particularly exposed because of a shrinking and ageing workforce, and falling birth rates.

The Importance of Expat Medical Insurance - Media Share

For Americans who choose to take jobs overseas, expat medical insurance is absolutely vital. If you should become sick or have an accident that results in serious injury, the medical insurance that covers you on US soil might be of no use to you in your new homeland. Expat medical insurance will ensure that your needs are completely covered, especially in those countries where expats are not covered by national health care. Read on to learn more about the importance of expat medical insurance. In countries like Italy or anywhere in the UK, you can qualify for medical services that are paid by the state, but expat medical insurance will ensure that you are covered even if you should get sick or injured in a neighboring country. If the company that has sent you to another country offers insurance, it is possible that the company offers only the minimum required by law, so it would behoove you to bulk up your insurance coverage. You should always double check on what coverage is available to you prior to your big move; if the country you will be residing in is a populous country with free health care, and you qualify for free health care, you probably won't need additional insurance. But a tiny village in the middle of China might have a dearth of doctors, so you will need to find a medical plan that will cover something as extreme as evacuation in case of an emergency.

For Americans who choose to take jobs overseas, expat medical insurance is absolutely vital. If you should become sick or have an accident that results in serious injury, the medical insurance that covers you on US soil might be of no use to you in your new homeland. Expat medical insurance will ensure that your needs are completely covered, especially in those countries where expats are not covered by national health care. Read on to learn more about the importance of expat medical insurance. In countries like Italy or anywhere in the UK, you can qualify for medical services that are paid by the state, but expat medical insurance will ensure that you are covered even if you should get sick or injured in a neighboring country. If the company that has sent you to another country offers insurance, it is possible that the company offers only the minimum required by law, so it would behoove you to bulk up your insurance coverage. You should always double check on what coverage is available to you prior to your big move; if the country you will be residing in is a populous country with free health care, and you qualify for free health care, you probably won't need additional insurance. But a tiny village in the middle of China might have a dearth of doctors, so you will need to find a medical plan that will cover something as extreme as evacuation in case of an emergency.

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