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Problem: Waiting for months for an appointment with a specialist

Anyone who has ever gotten sick in Germany knows the pain of waiting for an appointment with a specialist, such as a skin doctor or orthopedics. If you are insured under public health insurance, you must wait for at least six months to get an appointment.

Waiting for so long seems ridiculous when you are suffering from pain. Unfortunately, this is how it is in Germany.

Long waiting times for appointments are one of the many reasons people move to private health insurance. However, I'll share a trick with you today to get a faster appointment as a publicly insured individual.

Solution: Cost reimbursement principle

Under the "cost reimbursement principle," you pay the doctor yourself and submit the invoice for reimbursement to your public health insurance company.

This is how it works

1. Pick a doctor

• Go to Doctolib or Google to find a doctor near you.
• In Doctolib, you can filter doctors who accept publicly insured patients.

2. Book an appointment

• In DoctoLib, you'll see that the next available appointment is months away. No worries! Simply select the next available appointment.
• Doctolib will ask again if you are publicly or privately insured. This time, select privtely insured.
• You'll get new appointments for the same doctor on Doctolib, which will be available within the same or next week. Book this appointment.
• If you call a doctor via Google, tell them you are publicly insured but pay on your own. They'll offer an appointment faster.

3. Pay the doctor

• You must pay the doctor yourself during your visit. Confirm beforehand if the doctor accepts payment by card or only cash.
• Sometimes, doctors send an invoice to your address instead of paying at the clinic.

4. Submit the invoice

• Submit the doctor's invoice to your public health insurance company. You can upload the invoice to your insurer's website.
• Public health insurance providers reimburse the costs within a few days.

NOTE: Public insurers may not reimburse the whole cost

Doctors bill privately and publicly insured individuals differently. They get more money for treating privately insured individuals. This is the reason privately insured people get faster appointments.

When you pay on your own, you are billed as a privately insured person. So, the invoice amount might be more than the public insurance covers.

When you submit the invoice, the public health insurance company will reimburse you only for the costs they pay for a publicly insured individual. You must bear the difference (if any).

The public health insurance also deducts the statutory co-payment when reimbursing the invoice. The co-payment is a couple of euros. You can read about it here.

Advantages of the cost reimbursement principle

• Faster appointments: You will receive an appointment with a specialist faster.
• Free choice of doctor: You are free to choose any doctor who accepts publicly insured patients.
• More benefits: As you are paying on your own, you can avail of any services you wish.

Change contracts to save money

Switching your electricity, gas, internet, car insurance, and other contracts can save you money. Companies and comparison portals offer various discounts to attract new customers. Switching your contracts can save you more than 1000€.

How do you do it?

• Simply compare plans on Check24 or Verivox.
• If you find a cheaper contract, sign up for it.
• The new company takes care of canceling your old contract.

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