Beware of the Doctor's 10 Euro rule

To pick up a copy of your pill prescription, I meant.

I smell a missionary

Missionary position?

One track mind, showem.

a hundred bucks a month max (my contribution to my private health scheme was 175 a month with Allianz + another 175 from the employer). just the loss of "eigenheimzulage" eats that up the saving (and then some)

@ Parnell. Yeah, one of the biggest niggles I had with my now ex German boyfriend was his tendency to go doctor to doctor all the friggin time.

But I am looking at the supply side by saying people should have ONE regular doctor and if Mrs Müller is just going in for a chat (after she's held up the bloody queue in the supermarket for half an hour ) then the doctor should cut off the supply as he or she has to realise after 10 minutes of hypocondria it's just a dear old lady who should really be going to her neighbours for a coffee and a grumble rather than using up the health system's time and money.

Regarding the % thing. Why should you as young and healthy pay the same as someone old and more likey to be ill? Cos YOU will be old one day too. The private insurers work this in by putting part of the money aside when you are young to pay for when you are older and of course they don't take on the old or sick!

@ Jordigo. You just proved my case without meaning to!
I've crossed the boundary and could leave the Kasse now but for one reason or another (inertia, "lefty") I'm still in the public system. You and your employer pay € 175 each to Allianz privately. My employer and I pay a bit over € 280 EACH to the public AOK. My "overpayment" is subsidising those the "cheap" private insurers won't touch. So clearly an advantage to the higher paid and an an incentive to leave the public cystem worsening it for those left behind.

But regarding what you were saying earlier about € 300 x age, I have to agree with you that is a discentive to strive for success or to plan for your future. I pay a fair whack of tax and insurance and still put money aside. But if I ever go to claim social welfare etc, I'm going to be penalised BECAUSE I made that effort!

Jesus, better go before I make any more Thatcherite neo-liberal faux pas!

I agree about the "negative self selection" part of the kasse vs. private thing, but what I meant was that this small gain does not outweigh all of the subsidies you lose when you earn over a certain threshold (like eigenheimzulage which is quite substantial) so the point is: don't focus on this one item when there are a huge range of other things between there and the bottom line

Karen, Opa looked over the link you posted and true enough I shouldn't have to pay again just to find out the results. Instead of phoning tomorrow, I'll pop into the surgery with the pdf file(In print) tucked in my bag. It'll be interesting to know what happens.

My, what an interesting discussion this has turned out to be and just for the record, I've had 4 serious illness' in the past 6 years(therefore not a surgery clogger), all of which resulted in a return to GB for proper care management. The system in Germany provided me with every conceivable investigation under the sun but they just couldn't put the pieces of the puzzle together. The NHS may not be the best but I cannot fault the holistic care I've received in the past.

Just thought I'd let you know that thanks to Karen, I didn't have to pay.