General Discussion

Last edited Fri Jun 26, 2026, 01:33 AM - Edit history (1)

German rates for treatment are nothing like in the USA. For what you paid in in Germany, a German’s insurance would have picked up the bill, but it wouldn’t have been any different—probably like my procedure. Much dental work in Germany is not covered by standard insurance, and there is a dentistry clinic in Budapest, Hungary that advertises daily on German TV how many thousands you can save by going there to have your dental work done, even including room and board for the length of your stay (!!).

I have never had any medical treatment done in the UK, but it sounds like their NHS does not charge patients for care, which means their taxpayers pick up the bill for their complete health system. That means that British taxpayers also pick up the bill for visitors who need unexpected treatment. As long as there is no abuse, or “medical tourism,” I’m sure the NHS can absorb the cost without going bust.

The USA is notorious for being the opposite. This is no secret and Germany has many package deals of health insurance for travelers and vacationers. Some friends ours got such a package for their son when he went for a high school year abroad in California. One day, he collapsed and was taken to the ER, where, after a few days, he was finally diagnosed with a rare heart cancer. They stabilized him as best they could so he could return to Germany. The bill was $50,000. The parents’ vacationer’s insurance that they had bought for him covered the whole thing. They didn’t want to, but this is a billion dollar/euro business in Germany, and refusing a $50,000 dollar medical invoice and making national headlines in the process could have killed their whole business. They paid.

My wife used to buy those things when she traveled to the USA with our daughters while they were still German residents. She hasn’t bought them lately, but she should. There is a huge gap in what Blue Cross says they cover (much) and what they really cover (almost nothing).