Medical Insurance

So I’ve actually been in this position with your insurance company. With my friend she did have to pay upfront, but once it became apparent that this was going to be a substantial bill, the hospital called the insurance company, and they worked out a payment arrangement plan.

But yes, they took credit cards

She was in Mexico and the bill was probably $20,000 or so by the time it was all said and done. now she did actually have a credit card that she could’ve put a $20,000 charge on but as I said after they realized in the emergency room that she was going to be staying with them for quite a while the next day the hospital staff started working on the problem

Do hospitals accept credit cards?

Public German hospitals usually don't. For patients with compulsory health insurance (ca. 75% of all), they bill the health insurance company directly - the patient never sees an invoice - and for privately insured patients, they issue an invoice. It's different for purely private clinics, but you can't expect to end up in one of these in an emergency. But don't worry - no one will expect you to have thousands of euros in your pocket, and they will always find an ad hoc solution.

Incidentally, if it is only an ambulatory treatment, the costs are much lower than in the US. I am always amazed at the amount my daughter (who lives in New Jersey) has to pay when one of her children needs ad hoc treatment in hospital.

I had to have unexpected surgery at Franziskus Hospital in Berlin and paid with a credit card.

They asked for payment details before the surgery and were not interested in any US insurance.

My Blue Cross/Shied works overseas but overseas you have to pay upfront or make arrangements to pay.

Therefore, I always buy medical coverage and medical evacuation coverage from AmEx for every overseas trip.

Cost for a month for two persons runs about $60. Provides up to a million dollars in coverage.

Care providers in foreign countries don't have a working relationship or the administrative staff to deal directly with US health insurance companies. So it's going to be different than what we experience at home. It's not unreasonable for care providers to hold you responsible for your costs. People I know have had trouble getting reimbursed because of language issues and the time difference, and not keeping paperwork records of what happened, since they assumed it would all be seamless like at home. It might be worth checking with your insurer as to what documentation they would need, if something happened.

I believe Allianz is Irish. At least my customer service rep is in Ireland. I deal with medical issues way too often in Europe, but no Germany, so that's no help.

But MedJet does have a policy with a $50.000 cash advance. How easy and how fast to get, no idea, haven't needed it yet.