Supplementary insurance for naturopaths

In the test: additional insurance for naturopathic treatments.
(13.10.2010) The costs for a treatment with the alternative practitioner are usually not covered by the statutory health insurance. Also for measures such as acupuncture or homeopathy pay statutory health insurance only rarely and only small amounts. Thus, with regular consultation alternative treatment methods, for the patients a private supplementary insurance worthwhile. "Finanztest" has in a recent study compared 143 offers that offer a corresponding additional insurance.

Only two additional insurance explicitly for non-medical practitioner services
In general, supplementary insurance with a private health insurance (PKV) can certainly pay off for insured persons if they often resort to the appropriate treatment methods. However, this is only very limited for supplementary insurance in the field of alternative practitioner treatment. Because of the 143 offers tested, all offer a subsidy to the cost of the treatments, however, only two of the supplementary insurance offered are explicitly tailored to the field of naturopathic treatment and natural remedies. For the remaining supplementary insurance, the reimbursement of costs for a corresponding naturopathic treatment, each part of a supplementary insurance package, includes other benefits such as the reimbursement of costs for dentures or glasses. Even a foreign health insurance, which would be interested in a reimbursement of health practitioner treatments insured, with some providers at the same time to complete.

Supplementary insurance exclusively for non-medical practitioner services are not worthwhile
Thus financial test comes to the result that a supplementary insurance for customers, which are concerned exclusively with the naturopathic treatment, rarely worthwhile. The insured would have to go to the health practitioner very regularly and cause treatment costs of several hundred euros a year, so that the additional insurance reckon for them. In such a case, however, it is doubtful whether the private health insurance companies accept the customer at all. Because contrary to the GKV private insurers can choose their members and will not accept in future any customer or demand a risk premium or exclude the treatment of certain diseases completely from the insurance. In particular, chronically ill patients often find it difficult to obtain appropriate insurance. Since the contributions of the supplementary insurance for the treatment of non-medical practitioners are also hardly worthwhile with rare and small treatment, "financial test" recommends those affected to pay their treatment costs in the future even better. A thoroughly unpleasant finding, because although many processes and agents from the field of naturopathy or the alternative practitioner treatment are promising, patients must bear the cost of such treatment itself.

Complete benefit packages as an alternative?
"Financial test" emphasizes, however, that for customers who want to complete in addition to the medical practitioner treatment anyway additional insurance for glasses and dentures, some offers are quite worthwhile. Overall, however, only 5 of the tested supplementary insurance offer "good" non-medical practitioner services, which are in addition to the tariff maxi of Swiss insurance CSS three rates of Gothaer and one of the SDK. None of the tested offers was rated by "Finanztest" with a "very good" for the non-medical practitioner services. The main reason for this was that insurers severely restrict their services in various places. For example, reimbursable expenses are often limited to a certain maximum, and even the most generous insurance covers a maximum of 80 percent of the treatment.

Insurance companies take a maximum of 80 percent
In a corresponding calculation model of "financial test" pays a patient for acupuncture treatment with a total of twelve sessions 900 € and get paid from the highest performance tariff maxi of CSS 720 €. However, at a second session in the same year, with the same costs, the patient would only be reimbursed € 80 from his insurance, as the insurance only accepts costs of a maximum of € 800 in twelve months. Thus, the affected will consider well in spite of any health problems, whether they take a corresponding naturopathic treatment.

Financial test advises to hedge risks individually
Customers who are less interested in a holistic treatment, but rather in a comprehensive dentures or exquisite glasses should, according to the recommendation of "financial test", individually secure the various risks to save costs. The complete additional insurance packages are also rarely worthwhile here. For example, customers who value first-rate dentistry reimbursement should, according to "Financial Test" advice, take out an explicit supplementary dental insurance.

Supplementary dental insurance can be worthwhile
Especially in the field of dentures supplementary insurance are often advantageous because the statutory health insurance many treatments such as implants have to pay for the most part themselves and the SHI provides only a fixed subsidy for each dental medical findings. Although this subsidy covers part of the costs, even with exclusive regular care, a certain proportion of the patient's own contribution remains. For example, this is the highest possible subsidy to the total cost of 250 euros for a cashier's crown 92 euros, which must pay the insured itself. Costs for exclusive services such as implants, which are connected to the jaw instead of a removable denture, are reimbursable only to a very small extent anyway. Here, invoices of around 2,000 euros per tooth can get stuck on the patient. Therefore, a dental insurance is relatively lucrative for many insured.

Benefits for eyeglass wearers often include insurance packages
Even legally-insured eyeglass wearers can take out additional insurances that are explicitly tailored to their needs and, according to the "financial test", can represent a sensible supplement to the insurance cover. Because since 2004, most of those affected bear the costs for their lenses completely themselves. Only severely visually impaired receive a subsidy from the statutory insurance for their glasses and the spectacle frame as well as special wishes such as the anti-reflection of the glasses have to pay anyway patients out of pocket. Since almost 62 percent of adults in Germany, according to a study of the survey institute Allensbach, wear glasses, many of the complete supplementary insurance packages offer corresponding benefits for glasses. Whereby "Finanztest" has determined some "good" offers among the tested supplementary insurances. However, all new insurances require a premium supplement from new customers who are already wearing glasses.

No false information when concluding the contract
In the context of the study, "Finanztest" once again warns against making false health claims when filing the application, because the insurance cover lapses as soon as the insurance company learns about it. Since the clients release their doctors and therapists of other health care professions from the obligation of secrecy upon application and the insurances can investigate so easily, the probability that a possible fraud is noticeable also quite high. It also helps little to complete a supplementary insurance shortly before a treatment, since the insured must wait three months before they can claim benefits for the first time (for dentures even eight months).