Some retirees want to feel younger again in old age - and that's why they go under the knife.
Does the health insurance then pay for the cosmetic surgery?
Update January 26, 2023: By the
way, there are also some ways for retirees to keep their skin healthy naturally.
First report from January 25, 2023:
Hamburg – It is better to grow old than to look old – many pensioners seem to take this “principle of wisdom” to heart.
Because more and more older people are going under the knife to look fresh and vital.
In recent years, the average age for cosmetic surgery in Germany was around 43 years.
However, operations of this type can often be very expensive.
This begs the question: Does health insurance actually pay for cosmetic surgery for pensioners?
Health insurance provider: | health insurance |
Function: | Health insurance companies cover all or part of the costs for therapies in the event of illness, maternity, and often also after an accident, and are part of the respective health system and social security system |
Number in Germany: | 96 (as of January 01, 2023) |
Cosmetic Surgery: Does health insurance pay for retirees to have cosmetic surgery?
According to Doctor Svenja Giessler, retirees who want cosmetic surgery are less concerned with looking 30 again.
Rather, they wanted to leave a relaxed, vital and relaxed impression on those around them.
The specialist reports on the website of her
practice for plastic and aesthetic surgery
in Munich.
"Your outside should express how old you feel inside," it says.
For this reason, plastic and aesthetic surgery procedures in patients over the age of 65 have increased in recent years.
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When does health insurance actually cover the financial costs of cosmetic surgery for pensioners?
(24hamburg.de assembly)
© Steinach/Addictive Stock/Imago
For many seniors, life really begins when they retire - of course, you want to reflect that with a fresh external appearance.
Older women in Germany therefore go under the knife more often than men.
According to Doctor Giessler, neck and forehead facelifts, eyelid lifts and breast surgeries are particularly popular – but the latter primarily to reduce sagging, heavy breasts.
For older men, eyelid and tummy tucks are the two most popular reasons to visit a cosmetic surgeon.
No medically necessary interventions - why health insurance companies usually do not pay for cosmetic surgeries
As can already be gathered from the term cosmetic surgery, operations in this category are usually not medically necessary.
This affects the assumption of costs by statutory health insurance companies.
Because if it is a purely aesthetic correction, the health insurance companies usually do not cover the costs of the procedure.
In the worst case, cosmetic surgery also entails other necessary interventions and financial expenses if something during the operation does not go according to plan.
Then it gets really expensive for the person concerned, because even in the case of follow-up interventions, the statutory health insurance company can ask the insured to pay according to the
consumer
advice center and reclaim all or part of the sick pay for the duration of the treatment.
In order to keep fit as a senior, there are also some sports that are particularly suitable for pensioners.
Cosmetic surgery for pensioners: In which cases the health insurance company pays for the costs
Health insurance only agrees to cover the costs of cosmetic surgery if the procedure is medically necessary.
This can be the case, for example, with a congenital malformation – a breast reduction can also fall under this term.
Because the desire for cosmetic surgery is not always based solely on the longing for a visual change.
If women with large busts develop painful postural defects due to the weight or skin diseases in the area of the skin folds, the health insurance company will cover the high costs of a breast reduction in individual cases.
This is reported by the Mannheim Clinic for Plastic Surgery on its website.
Accordingly, severe psychological stress due to one's own appearance can also be accompanied by approval from the health insurance company.
For this, however, a psychological report must also be available.
Incidentally, under certain circumstances, dentures for pensioners are also paid for by the health insurance company.
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Do health insurance companies pay the costs of cosmetic surgery for pensioners?
That needs to be checked
All in all, it can be summarized that every cosmetic operation is an individual case in terms of cost assumption and is checked by the health insurance company if certificates of a medical indication are submitted.
According to the Mannheim clinic, whether and to what extent the health insurance company actually pays for the costs varies greatly from case to case.
Pensioners should therefore clarify with the respective health insurance company before the procedure whether the costs of the cosmetic surgery will be covered.
According to the
consumer
advice center, it is helpful if you contact the responsible health insurance company directly with a statement from the treating physicians.
Pensioners can also receive a subsidy for health insurance.
List of rubrics: © Steinach/Addictive Stock/Imago
