Frequently asked questions about Barmer benefits

Yes. Barmer covers you for all medically necessary healthcare services and treatments. This includes healthcare at doctors, specialists, approved therapists, hospitals, basic dental care, prescription medication and more. If you need healthcare, there is always a service or treatment available to you.

Yes. If you’re insured with Barmer, you’ll receive many additional benefits that are not normally provided under public health insurance. These include access to leading treatments, faster appointments with specialists, free medical advice via telephone as well as modern, digital apps and online services. For more information on how to get the most out of your health insurance, visit our webpage Barmer Benefits, call our English Service Hotline or visit us in person at a Barmer service point. We are always happy to assist you.

Yes, when the prescription is pink or yellow. Barmer covers all medication that doctors prescribe as medically necessary. Prescriptions come in the colours pink, blue, green and sometimes yellow. The colour determines who will pay for the medication and how long the prescription is valid. Pink prescriptions are covered by public health insurance and are mostly valid for 28 days. Yellow prescriptions are covered, too, but are only valid for 7 days. Green and blue prescriptions are not covered. In Germany, statutory co-payments between 5 and 10 euro per package are charged for medication on pink or yellow prescriptions.

Prescriptions and pharmacies in Germany

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Yes. Barmer covers the full costs for all officially recommended vaccinations in Germany. In addition, Barmer also reimburses 100% of the costs for travel vaccinations that are not normally covered under public health insurance. This way, you’ll have even more money to enjoy for your vacation. As a Barmer member, you can find out what travel vaccinations are recommended by calling our free Barmer Teledoktor on 0800 333 560.

Yes. Barmer covers the costs for therapeutic treatments prescribed by a doctor. However, you are required to make a statutory co-payment of 10% of the cost of these treatments and an additional 10 euro per prescription. Therapeutic treatments include physiotherapeutic treatments, such as massage, and occupational, voice, speech and language therapies, podiatry therapy for diabetic foot syndrome as well as nutritional therapy for rare metabolic diseases.

Yes. You can receive psychotherapy easily and free of charge via your e-health card, but your therapist needs to be registered within the public health insurance system.

The Barmer Doctor Finder is a good place to start when looking for an approved psychotherapist in your area – especially one who speaks your preferred language.

On the website of the Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung (National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians), you can also search for psychotherapists in your area. You can find all approved psychotherapists under the heading “Tipps zur Online-Arztsuche: So finden Sie Ihren Arzt oder Psychotherapeuten”. Please note that this website is only available in German.

You can also receive telephone support to find a psychotherapist by calling the special appointment service hotline of the Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung. You can reach this service at the nationwide number 116117 or at www.116117.de. Agents on this special hotline will try to support you in English, but the menu choices given at the beginning of the call are only in German.

In Germany, professional dental cleaning is not covered by public health insurance. However, with the Barmer Bonus Program, you can earn cash subsidies of up to 150 euro each year, which you can use to cover the costs for this service. For pregnant women, we cover the full costs of one professional dental cleaning. Barmer also covers the full costs for tartar removal once a year as part of your preventive dental care.

Your personal online service centre. With the Barmer-App and Meine Barmer, you can easily manage your health insurance online – quickly and securely from wherever you are in the world. You can access the Meine Barmer online service centre directly from the Barmer website – or via the Barmer-App from a mobile device. As a registered user of our online service centre, you can:

• Fill out and download applications and certificates digitally
• Update personal data
• Receive reminder services for preventive medical checkups and vaccinations
• Use your personal online mailbox for secure, digital communication with us
• Submit sick notes and keep track of sickness benefit payments
• Stay informed about the processing status of your maternity pay
• Enjoy attractive online courses and apps for your health
• Access many other digital services and apps for BARMER members

Would you like to know more? Simply contact us for further support. 

You only need to register once – for either the Barmer-App or Meine Barmer. Your username and password can be used for all Barmer online services and digital offers. Currently, the registration process for our online services is only available in German. However, our English step-by-step guide helps you with the registration. If you require further support, our English Service Hotline is available on 0800 333 0060 (from abroad, +49 202 568 333 0060) – our customer service advisors are always happy to assist you.

Step-by-step guide

As of 18 December 2023, users of the Barmer-App will need to make an important upgrade to their user account. This includes confirming your identity. To make it easier for you, we have created a step-by-step English guide to support you. If you have further questions about the upgrade process, please call our English Service Hotline on 0800 333 0060.

Step-by-step guide