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In reply to the discussion: This is the real reason most Americans file for bankruptcy [View all]DFW
(54,370 posts)Here in Germany, they deny coverage for many expensive dental procedures, and have a class system for getting appointments. The top 10% gets an appointment whenever they need it, and the rest are put into a waiting line that can mean months before you see a doctor. When my wife took early retirement, I had to jump in for about 450 a month so she would be covered at all until she hit age 65. I checked about getting German health insurance when I moved here, but due to a pre-existing condition, I was quoted 2500 a month ($33,000 a year at today's rates). Not exactly cheap.
The flip side here is that IF you are covered, you are REALLY covered. My wife came down with a second round of cancer when she was 64. She spent a month in the hospital after a brutal surgery and nearly 100 biopsies to see if the cancer (a really vicious, fast-spreading kind) had spread. She was that one in a thousand that got discovered early and was cured. Her form of cancer is called "der Mörder (the murderer)" here because it is almost always fatal by the time it is discovered. Cancer treatment here in Germany includes a month's stay in a rehab spa, and they have rehab spas around the country dedicated to various kinds of cancer. Cost to he/usr: less than $250. It would have ruined many people back home. We are lucky she is a German citizen with German residence.