• itscountolaf@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      That should be on case in all of Europe (in Germany and Italy for sure). It’s covered but your insurance as long as there is an emergency. So you can’t just use the ambulance as a taxi, then you would be billed the whole amount.

      • ActuallyRuben@actuallyruben.nl
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        1 year ago

        Not entirely in the Netherlands. There you have a yearly mandatory “eigen risico” of €385 (or more if you want a discount on health insurance). The first costs you make, you have to pay out of pocket. Only after you’ve exceeded the €385 in a year will the insurance start covering the costs.

        • heili@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          We call that a “deductible”. Mine is $1200. So it’s more than yours, but it’s not quite the same as having to pay for everything out of pocket.

          • owenfromcanada@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            But it’s worth noting that (at least here in the US), once you’ve paid the $1200, you often still have to pay 10 to 20% of costs (called a co-pay). A single serious incident (emergency hospitalization, for example) could easily still cost hundreds or even thousands.

            • heili@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              There is also an out of pocket maximum with regards to that “co pay” or “co insurance”. My annual out of pocket maximum for co-pay and co-insurance is $2500.

      • redballooon@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I was only once in an ambulance in the past 30 years or so. There, my insurance came to me afterwards and billed me a 10€ share. For some reason I found this infuriating. (Germany)