If your home country provides easy access to psychological support, it can come as quite the surprise that previous therapy or mental health conditions affect your insurance options in Germany. So, let's have a look at this country- wide system!
This article will cover:
Why does therapy/ mental health affect my insurance options?
German providers of private health insurance assess all applicants and their medical history. The goal? Getting a ballpark figure of how much funding is needed to cover their medical bills in the future. For that purpose, the providers rely on an intricate system that provides information on how likely a pre-existing condition is tied to future treatments and their cost.
This data has been collected by following the development of the conditions and their treatments by large groups of patients. With certain pre-existing conditions, it turned out that future treatment is needed more likely than not. Among these conditions are mental health issues and previous psychotherapy. As a result, the providers adapt or even deny coverage if someone applies with this background.
Can't I just withhold medical information to get insurance?
We strongly advise against withholding information on any medical condition in the application.
Insurance providers often communicate with your doctors about health conditions when you make a claim. If it turns out that information has been withheld about a pre-existing condition, the coverage is canceled immediately. This means you’ll be without healthcare - and switching to another provider will be extremely difficult.
When is private health insurance not an option?
If the therapy is not yet concluded, or there were more than 25 sessions in total, private health insurance is typically not be an option.
The insurance is also not accessible if you have or had an active mental health condition like depression within the last years. The same applies for medication like anti- depressants, as their intake must have stopped more than 3 years ago.
If your circumstances prohibit you from joining private health cover, our team is right there to check other options tailored to your personal circumstances!
What happens if psychotherapy isn’t covered or I am denied?
If you are not satisfied with the offer, you’re able to keep your current health insurance coverage. If you’ve been denied coverage, our team is right there to check for alternative insurance options tailored to your personal circumstances.
When does it make sense to apply?
Requirements
We would like to emphasize that coverage cannot be guaranteed in these cases and that it still depends on the provider´ s individual assessment.
If you have received some form of therapy in the past, you can still apply, if:
You had less than 5 sessions, the therapy has already come to an end and there is no plan to continue with it.
You had up to 25 sessions, the therapy has ended more than 5 years ago and there is no ongoing mental health conditions.
If you had a mental health condition, you can still apply, if:
There is medical proof that the condition was successfully overcome more than 3 years ago. If any medication like anti-depressants were needed, their intake must have stopped at that time as well.
The coverage might change
If you are accepted to private health insurance with a medical history in mental health or therapy, the insurance provider will most likely suggest a change of the coverage. As with some other health conditions, related treatments to your pre-existing condition will most likely not be covered.
Here is an example: You have received psychotherapy in the past, but since it was only for a handful of sessions, you can be covered under private health insurance. However, future therapy sessions will be excluded from your coverage. In case you decide to benefit from therapy again, you can still be treated, of course - but you would pay for it out of pocket.
Activating your coverage
There are two possible outcomes of the application process. If changes need to be made due to preexisting conditions, you’ll receive your new proposed coverage details and step-by-step guidance from our team through activating your coverage.
If you can be covered without changes to the initial offer, your private health insurance plan will be activated automatically within a couple of days.