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At least in Europe, I have never seen anyone ask for pre existing medical conditions unless getting specialized private insurance. I have never heard of any res

At least in Europe, I have never seen anyone ask for pre existing medical conditions unless getting specialized private insurance. I have never heard of any residency permit being based on medical history in Europe. I would imagine it to be illegal? I'm currently in Italy myself, and my father was visiting me and got a nasty case of pneumonia on the way over. Here in italy care is (mostly) free,as is his hospital stay here in genova. While it may be not to the full American standard, his care has been great, and the staff wonderful. I'm glad to be in a system here where Healthcare is good, and affordable, and that with this episode my father is not bankrupted or in considerable debt because of it, especially as an elderly patient. La dolce vita.

patryn20 9y ago
British commonwealth countries seem to have health assessment/medical history checks. Germany requires immigrants to have private health insurance until they are granted permanent residence/citizenship. That insurance can have restrictions on pre-existing conditions and/or be prohibitively expensive. If you are already an EU citizen the rules can often be quite different than as a US passport holder. I am not a global expert in immigration law though and I'm now going to research Italy. ;-) Thank you!
- insulanian 9y ago
  > Germany requires immigrants to have private health insurance until they are granted permanent residence/citizenship. This is not true! I'm in Germany since 2012 and still don't have permanent residence permit, but have public health insurance from day one.
  - patryn20 9y ago
    Well that is interesting. What is your original country of origin?
    - mrunkel 9y ago
      Not the person you are responding to, but my wife is an American living in Germany and we have public insurance. I think you're conflating a few different terms and perhaps not fully understanding what is meant by public and private insurance in Germany?
- germanier 9y ago
  Basically there are three classes of people: Those who need public insurance, those that need private insurance, and those that can choose between them. Who is in which class depends on many factors such as your type of work, income, and insurance history both in Germany and abroad. It does however not dependent on your citizenship or immigration status.

patryn20 9y ago

British commonwealth countries seem to have health assessment/medical history checks. Germany requires immigrants to have private health insurance until they are granted permanent residence/citizenship. That insurance can have restrictions on pre-existing conditions and/or be prohibitively expensive. If you are already an EU citizen the rules can often be quite different than as a US passport holder. I am not a global expert in immigration law though and I'm now going to research Italy. ;-) Thank you!

insulanian 9y ago
> Germany requires immigrants to have private health insurance until they are granted permanent residence/citizenship. This is not true! I'm in Germany since 2012 and still don't have permanent residence permit, but have public health insurance from day one.
- patryn20 9y ago
  Well that is interesting. What is your original country of origin?
  - mrunkel 9y ago
    Not the person you are responding to, but my wife is an American living in Germany and we have public insurance. I think you're conflating a few different terms and perhaps not fully understanding what is meant by public and private insurance in Germany?
germanier 9y ago
Basically there are three classes of people: Those who need public insurance, those that need private insurance, and those that can choose between them. Who is in which class depends on many factors such as your type of work, income, and insurance history both in Germany and abroad. It does however not dependent on your citizenship or immigration status.