Do I have a claim? What you are entitled to

If your health is weakened or there are health risks that could lead to illness in the foreseeable future, you can apply to your health or pension fund for a cure. If you have statutory health insurance, you are entitled to outpatient treatment every three years and inpatient treatment every four years. Ask your family doctor for advice in advance.

How do I submit an application?

Help from specialists Your family doctor knows your medical history best and will certify the medical necessity of a cure. You should then submit the application for a cure together with your doctor. In addition to the medical findings, it is also important to define the reason for and aim of the cure or rehabilitation. If you need additional help with this, you can turn to independent services such as patient counseling. Together with the medical documents, the application will now be sent to your health insurance company, where it will be reviewed.

Approval - and now? What happens next for you

If you receive positive feedback for an inpatient stay, the health insurance company will assign you a suitable clinic. If this does not suit you, you can lodge an objection. In the case of outpatient treatment, you are free to choose a recognized health resort.

What to do if you are refused? Your rights and opportunities

If your application is completely rejected or you are granted an outpatient cure instead of an inpatient cure, you can lodge an objection in person or in writing within one month. At present, around 50 percent of initially rejected applications are successful after all.

What about the costs? What you have to pay yourself

In the case of inpatient preventive care or rehabilitation measures and outpatient rehabilitation, the costs are covered up to a co-payment of 10 euros per day. In the case of outpatient preventive services, the costs of the spa doctor are covered in full and 90 percent of the costs of spa medication.