Germany

Accessing care

With the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), you can receive medically necessary treatment during a temporary stay in Germany. Medically necessary treatment means treatment that cannot wait until you return home. You may need such treatment, for example, due to sudden illness or an accident.

You can also receive treatment related to pregnancy, childbirth, or chronic illnesses. If you have a condition that requires regular treatment while you are staying abroad, contact a health care provider in advance to arrange the treatment.

The European Health Insurance Card does not guarantee free treatment and you will be charged the same amount as local residents. We recommend carrying additional copies of your card. If you do not have a European Health Insurance Card or if it is not accepted, you will need to pay the cost of treatment yourself. You can then apply for reimbursement from Kela afterward.

If you become ill while in Germany, present your European Health Insurance Card to the treatment provider.  You need to choose one of the sickness funds to pay the costs of your treatment. You can freely choose any fund which has an agreement with the statutory health insurance system of Germany. A list of health insurance funds (in German) is available online. You can find detailed information about the EHIC-procedure in Germany from the web service of the National Contact Point of Germany

Germany also has completely private healthcare providers who do not have contracts with the statutory health insurance system. If you seek treatment from the private sector, you will be responsible for all the costs of treatment.

Sudden illness

Doctor and dentist

If you need a doctor, seek a doctor (Arzt or Ärztin) who has an agreement with the sickness fund (Vertragsarzt, Kassenarzt, or “Alle Kassen”, which refers to all health insurance funds). Most doctors in Germany have such an agreement. The contact information for the doctors can be found from the web service of the National Contact Point of Germany. You can see a specialist (Facharzt or Fachärtzin) usually without a referral from a general practitioner. Treatment is free of charge. You can also see a dentist (Zahnarzt or Zahnärztin) without a referral.

Show your European Health Insurance Card and your identity card at the doctor’s practice. The receptionist will usually ask you how long you have been staying in Germany and ensure that you have not travelled into the country in order to receive healthcare. The receptionist will print out the form “Patientenerklärung Europäische Krankenversicherung”, which you will have to fill out and sign. In the form, you must also choose the sickness fund from which the doctor will charge your treatment costs.

The payment procedure is similar with dentists and hospitals as well. In the dentist’s office, and in most cases also in the hospital, you will have to also fill out and sign the form “Patientenerklärung Europäische Krankenversicherung”.

Outside regular consulting hours, you may turn to an out-of-hours service (emergency service) by calling the number 116117 free from anywhere in Germany.

Medication

When collecting your prescribed medication from a pharmacy (Apotheke), show the prescription, your European Health Insurance Card and your identity card. Prescription medicines are usually free for patients under the age of 18. There are also on-duty pharmacies, Apotheken-Notdienst (website in German).

Hospital treatment

In an emergency, you can go straight to a hospital that has a care agreement (zugelassenes Krankenhaus). Most hospitals in Germany have this agreement.

At the reception, show your European Health Insurance Card and your identity card. As in the doctor’s office the reception or accounting office usually will ask you to fill out and sign the “Patientenerklärung Europäische Krankenversicherung”. For hospital care, you will pay a deductible per day (at most 28 days per calendar year). All of the hospital healthcare services that are required for treating an illness are covered. However, you are liable for any additional services (such as the costs for private rooms). Hospital treatment is free for patients under the age of 18.

If you have to pay the full price at the treatment centre, even though you had the European Health Insurance Card with you, save the receipts and contact the National Contact Point of Germany. Alternatively, you might be able to apply for reimbursement from Kela retrospectively.

If your illness requires you to use special transport when returning to Finland, you will be liable for the travel costs in their entirety. You are recommended to take out a travel insurance that covers these costs.

Read more about suddenly falling ill in Europe.

Read more about reimbursement of costs of treatment abroad.

Useful websites

If you want to travel to Germany to use healthcare services there, you should read our website for general information about seeking treatment abroad on our site. Some useful websites concerning seeking treatment in Germany are listed below. You should direct your questions about healthcare in Germany to the National Contact Point of Germany.

You can look for a suitable service provider by using the search engine on the website of the National Contact Point of Germany. The search engine allows you to look for doctors, dentists, hospitals, physiotherapists and other treatment providers by location or treatment type.

You can compare the costs of private doctor and dentist services in the doctor fee table (Gebührenordnung für Ärzte, GOÄ) and  the dentist fee table (Gebührenordnung für Zahnärzte, GOZ) (tables in German). You may also be charged a higher amount if the treatment you receive is more demanding than listed in the price lists. You can receive the best estimate for the price of the treatment by contacting the provider in advance to enquire about the costs.

Quality and safety of treatment

Germany has in place common standards concerning quality of treatment and patient safety. Information concerning the quality of treatment provided in Germany is available on the following websites, among others: The German Hospital Federation (DKG, in English) and GKV-Spitzenverband (in German).

In the event of treatment injuries, the legislation and patient insurance of the country providing the treatment is always applied. In case you are unhappy with the treatment you received, you should primarily try to sort the matter out with the treatment provider. The national contact point can help you with finding the right authority if you wish to make a complaint.

Healthcare system

Germany has a two-part health insurance system. In addition to statutory health insurance funds, the country also has private health insurance. The “benefits-in-kind principle” applies in statutory health insurance. This means that persons with statutory health insurance do not have to pay the health care provider (for example, their doctor) an upfront payment for the treatment they receive. Instead, the healthcare provider provides the necessary service and subsequently bills the service to the statutory healthcare insurer of the insured person, the “health insurance funds”.

The benefits included in the health insurance are regulated according to statutory requirements. The various health insurance funds can offer additional benefits that complement the mandatory benefits. However, more than 90 percent of the benefits offered are set by law to be uniform for all patients with statutory health insurance. There are also benefits that are not listed in the Standard Schedule of Fees (Einheitlicher Bewertungsmaßstab, EBM). These benefits listed as “individual health services” (individuelle Gesundheitsleistungen, IGEL) are only available on a self-payment basis. The expenses of these individual health services are not reimbursed to a patient with statutory health insurance.

The “benefits-in-kind principle” does not apply in private health insurance. This means that if the patient has private health insurance, the health care provider will bill for the treatment after it is completed. The amount of the cost for the individual benefits is set by fee scales. Usually, the patient pays the bill and submits it to their health insurance company, which reimburses the price of the treatment either partially or fully.