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Medical screenings that your health insurance offers

Public health insurance covers a number of medical screening tests. These tests help in early detection of diseases. This makes the treatment more effective and less painful.

Here are the main medical screenings based on your age group and gender.

Women

• Dental Check-up (From age 18, Once per calendar half-year): Identify cavities, gum disease, and other dental issues early. If you are 35 and above, you should consider getting dental insurance.
• General Health Check-up (Ages 18 to 34, Once): Check blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar levels to detect heart problems.
• Gynecological Examination (Ages 20 to 34, annually | From 35, once every three years): Detect early signs of cervical cancer.
• Chlamydia Screening (Up to age 25, Annually): Checks for a common sexually transmitted infection (STI), Chlamydia. If untreated, it can cause serious health problems, including infertility.
• Breast Examination (From age 30, Annually): Detect early signs of breast cancer.
• General Health Check-up (From age 35, Every three years): Like the general check-up for people aged 18 to 34, this looks for early signs of heart disease and diabetes.
• Skin Cancer Screening (From age 35, Every two years): This involves looking at moles and spots on your skin to catch any signs of skin cancer.
• Test for Hidden Blood in Stool (Ages 50 to 54, annually | From 55, every two years): This test checks for tiny amounts of blood in your stool (poop) that you can’t see. Finding blood can be an early sign of colon cancer.
• Mammography Screening (Ages 50 to 75, every two years): Taking X-ray images of the breasts to detect breast cancer early.

Men

• Dental Check-up (From age 18, Once per calendar half-year): Identify cavities, gum disease, and other dental issues early. If you are 35 and above, you should consider getting dental insurance.
• General Health Check-up (Ages 18 to 34, Once | From age 35, Every three years): Early detection of heart disease, diabetes, and other related conditions.
• Skin Cancer Screening (From age 35, Every two years): This involves examining the skin for moles or spots that might be signs of skin cancer.
• Prostate Examination (From age 45, Annually): Helps in the early detection of prostate cancer.
• Colon Cancer Screening (Ages 50 to 54, Annually | From age 55, Every two years): You can choose between an annual test for hidden blood in your stool, which can indicate colon cancer, or two colonoscopies, spaced ten years apart, to directly check for cancer.
• Ultrasound Screening for Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (From age 65, Once): This one-time ultrasound checks for an enlargement of the main blood vessel in your abdomen, which can be life-threatening if not detected early.

ECB may lower the interest rate

Inflation in Germany fell to 1.9% in August 2024. This was the ECB's long-term inflation target. ECB might cut the interest rate from 4.5% to 4.25%.

What does this mean for you?

It means two things

• The interest rate on your savings account will decrease.
• Your interest rate on loans and mortgages will also decrease.

A decrease in savings interest rate is not the best. However, you can always park your money in other investments and earn better returns.

But a decrease in mortgage interest rates and loans is a big deal and good news for home buyers. 🥳

Here is an example to show you how much difference a small decrease in interest rate can make.

So, if you are looking to buy a property in Germany, a decrease in interest rates is a game changer. It can make the previously unaffordable properties affordable as you can get more credit.

Don't worry if you don't know anything about buying a home in Germany. We've got you covered. 😉

You can download our free ebook on buying a house in Germany and learn everything there is about the buying process and mortgage.

We've also covered you in finding a good mortgage offer. Our partner, ExpatCompassGermany, helps expats get the best mortgage deals.

You can book a free call with them here.

Visualization of the week

​Dental treatment costs can quickly grow from a few hundred to thousands of euros. Unfortunately, public health insurance offers very basic coverage for dental treatments.

This is why having supplementary dental insurance is vital. The dental plans we found best cover you from the next day with some reimbursement limits.

Here are the dental plans we found best in our comparison and tests. You can read the full report here.

• Concordia (Zahn Sorglos)
• ​Deutsche Familienversicherung AG* (Exclusiv 100)
• ​Barmenia* (Mehr Zahn 100 + Mehr Zahnvorsorge Bonus)
• ​Feather* (Advanced) - Feather is an insurance agent and sells Barmenia's dental plans.

The below image gives an overview of the detnal treatment costs in Germany. You can learn more in our guide on dental costs in Germany.

New on GermanPedia

Launched public health insurance cost calculator 🥳 Check how much you pay for your current public insurance. Additionally, the calculator shows how much you can save by switching to more cost-effective public insurance. Go to Calculator

Commons Scams In Germany The number of scams has increased in Germany lately. Thus, it's vital you know the common scams scammers are using and how you can protect yourself. We also tell you what you can do if you are a scam victim. Learn about scams in Germany

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