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Health Insurance - waiting period
I'm moving to Belgium in August and will be working/contributing to and eligible for social security benefits. I am wondering how other American (and other non-EU) expats dealt with the 6 month period where you could not claim reimbursements. Is there a way for non-EU folks to get that period of time waived? Or did you take out supplementary insurance? I just don't want to be caught uninsured.
Thanks in advance!
It's not true you cannot claim reimbursements for the first 6 months, there might be restrictions on certain reimbursements but it's not a universal ban. Go and contact one of the mutuelles. It's also not based on nationality, those of any nationality arriving from another EU country for example who have paid into social security there arrive with a certificate proving contributions and they have 100% reimbursements from arrival, well as soon as they start paying mutuelle contributions and prove they are paying social security too.
I am an American that moved here almost 5 years ago, and I did not have to wait 6 months for health coverage.
Do you mean extra coverage such as DKV? Or basic health insurance such as Partena?
It is possible that for DKV there is a waiting period for certain coverages (ie. Dental) but not hospitalization for example. Partena should be active straight away as soon as you are enrolled.
I'm also an American and had no waiting period when I moved here. Also started DKV's extra hospitalization insurance with no waiting period, and have since transitioned to KBC, also with no waiting period. The only waiting period I know of (from Partena, may differ with other mutuelles) is the 6 months waiting period for crowns and 12 months for braces on the extra dental insurance. Everything else was 100% coverage from the beginning.
If you are still interested in finding answers to your questions, you may want to check http://advice-helpdesk.com/. It's a free service, so it's worth looking into it.
If you are still interested in finding answers to your questions, you may want to check http://advice-helpdesk.com/. It's a free service, so it's worth looking into it.
