Since there was a question about healthcare for undocumented people in Germany , I thought I would share this link as a top-level comment, in case anyone would find it helpful.
Basic dental care like cleanings and basic fillings are covered by your regular health insurance. You have to pay if you want composite fillings or cosmetic procedures.
I should also clarify, since I wrote about going to the eye doctor, that eye exams and glasses for children are covered by health insurance, but not for adults unless you have a serious vision problems (greater than 6 diopters difference than 20/20, I think) or injury or disease of the eyes.
Thank you for this article. Really informative! Two questions I have, who is covered by the Federal program? Does it include all citizens and those who are in the country legally, or does it include everyone, legal or not but are in some way employed. My second question, is the level of care with respect to new technologies - is it comparable to that in other countries.
As for expected life outcomes, the US will always have a lower life expectancy, given the demographics of its population compared to the more homogeneous populations in many, if not all European countries.
The public insurance is open to anyone who is a legal resident - students, immigrants on work visas, job seeker visas, etc. Refugrees and asylum seekers are also covered, with the government paying the premiums for the insurance.
For people who are completely undocumented (here without a visa and not from an EU country where they also have a right of residence in Germany), they can get emergency medical care. German law requires hospitals to treat people for emergency medical conditions or if they are in labor. There are some groups that also offer medical clinics for people that are undocumented.
Also, I am not sure how you are defining homogenous - but in Germany, around 30 percent of the population, including citizens, has a migration background (defined as at least one grandparent born in another country) compared to about 25 percent of the U.S. population, same definition. For both countries, around 15 percent of the total population are immigrants/foreign nationals.
Cathi, thank you for your response. There is much that has been overpolitized in comparing the US to other countries so I very much appreciate your time in responding.
My wife and i have made two trips to Berlin in the last three years staying there for nearly month. Berlin is a great city and your stories of life there bring back fond memories of our trips.
Also, I compared the two countries in the article because the U.S. is where I am from and where a significant portion of readers are from. And, of course, I can only speak to Germany and not the rest of Europe or the EU.
Since there was a question about healthcare for undocumented people in Germany , I thought I would share this link as a top-level comment, in case anyone would find it helpful.
https://www.infomigrants.net/en/post/20743/germany-sick-without-papers
How is the dental care?
Basic dental care like cleanings and basic fillings are covered by your regular health insurance. You have to pay if you want composite fillings or cosmetic procedures.
I should also clarify, since I wrote about going to the eye doctor, that eye exams and glasses for children are covered by health insurance, but not for adults unless you have a serious vision problems (greater than 6 diopters difference than 20/20, I think) or injury or disease of the eyes.
Thank you for this article. Really informative! Two questions I have, who is covered by the Federal program? Does it include all citizens and those who are in the country legally, or does it include everyone, legal or not but are in some way employed. My second question, is the level of care with respect to new technologies - is it comparable to that in other countries.
As for expected life outcomes, the US will always have a lower life expectancy, given the demographics of its population compared to the more homogeneous populations in many, if not all European countries.
The public insurance is open to anyone who is a legal resident - students, immigrants on work visas, job seeker visas, etc. Refugrees and asylum seekers are also covered, with the government paying the premiums for the insurance.
For people who are completely undocumented (here without a visa and not from an EU country where they also have a right of residence in Germany), they can get emergency medical care. German law requires hospitals to treat people for emergency medical conditions or if they are in labor. There are some groups that also offer medical clinics for people that are undocumented.
Also, I am not sure how you are defining homogenous - but in Germany, around 30 percent of the population, including citizens, has a migration background (defined as at least one grandparent born in another country) compared to about 25 percent of the U.S. population, same definition. For both countries, around 15 percent of the total population are immigrants/foreign nationals.
Cathi, thank you for your response. There is much that has been overpolitized in comparing the US to other countries so I very much appreciate your time in responding.
My wife and i have made two trips to Berlin in the last three years staying there for nearly month. Berlin is a great city and your stories of life there bring back fond memories of our trips.
Also, I compared the two countries in the article because the U.S. is where I am from and where a significant portion of readers are from. And, of course, I can only speak to Germany and not the rest of Europe or the EU.