Why do I have to pay a private bill after a dental root treatment despite having health insurance?

I try to describe the situation as briefly as possible:

My tooth was painful and I should have a root canal treatment. After the anesthesia, the doctor determined that treatment had to be carried out, which, however, was not covered by health insurance. I was not told the amount of the costs at the time, nor was I informed about any alternatives. The doctor's assistant brought a machine and the doctor carried out this treatment (which is not covered by the health insurance and I was not told what treatment it was) and only told me after the treatment that I would now be within 2 weeks To pay 250 euro in cash to the practice. I didn't get an invoice.

I did contact my health insurance company, but they said that this was apparently a private treatment and that the health insurance company therefore has no influence on it and therefore can't help me. Now I don't know what to do because I don't have 250 euro. I'm studying computer science and have been saving for a new notebook for several months because my old one broke. I can't afford to study any longer without a laptop because I have to rely on one.

It can happen. He has informed you that it is a treatment that will not be taken over.

Wait until you receive a corresponding invoice. You should insist on that. Otherwise there's usually nothing that the dentist "has to" do, but rather things that he advises or that the patient wants, e.g. General anesthesia.

Something that really MUST be covered by health insurance as a rule.

In principle, nothing can be done that the health insurance does not pay for. Because then it is not necessary. Did you sign anything? Write to the dentist what you wrote here. And say you couldn't pay You would not have received a quote, you would not have signed anything and you doubted that the treatment would have been necessary.

No, I haven't signed anything. From my point of view, the information described above is all I know. I was either not told how the performed treatment went, what the treatment was, or was so embellished with technical jargon that I could not perceive it. Normally I always ask my doctors to tell them explicitly what is being done to make me feel safer. This time, however, it seemed quite half-hearted to me.

For such treatment outside of the health insurance benefits, the doctor must present you with a contract BEFORE the treatment, which clearly shows the amount. Trying to do something like that on the treatment chair is not an option.

And it doesn't work without an invoice.

The health insurance fund takes care of a root canal treatment

https://www.kostenfalle-zahn.de/sites/default/files/2018-01/1-Leistungsanspruch-beim-Zahnarzt.pdf

You can't get out of the number without a legal dispute. But as long as he doesn't issue a private bill, you're in the stronger position. The dentist should have advised you of an alternative treatment solution that would be covered by your health insurance. How are you going to prove he didn't do that? He will claim that you have expressly consented to private treatment.

You will have to find the 250 euro somehow. Filing a complaint with the Dental Association could help. Without an invoice, I wouldn't pay at all. The doctor must have behaved incorrectly.

But according to the info page of florestino https://www.kostenfalle-zahn.de/sites/default/files/2018-01/1-Leistungsanspruch-beim-Zahnarzt.pdf from the consumer center Berlin), without my written consent, one should not have had any treatment that is not covered by the health insurance - the doctor can't simply claim that this was dealt with verbally instead.

The behavior of the dentist seems quite questionable to me. Have you known him for a long time?

If a certain treatment is absolutely necessary, it is usually paid for by the health insurance. In your case, there would probably have been at least one alternative treatment that the health insurance would have paid for.

The dentist should have clearly pointed out the alternatives and the corresponding costs before the treatment.

My dentist always does it that way, and I always have to sign that I have been informed of the costs.

It is also very strange that you have not received an invoice and are supposed to pay in cash. Usually an invoice is sent and you then transfer the money.

It all sounds very dubious. As if he wanted to rip off his patients and then also cash past the tax.

To be honest, I don't really know him, I just looked for a dentist who on the one hand could give me an emergency appointment because I was in very severe pain and therefore had physical impairments and on the other hand also had good reviews on Google on the subject of dental phobia.

That's such a thing with root canals.

there's a standard treatment for root canal treatment that is paid for by the health insurance fund. BUT: no dentist does it because it supposedly doesn't help (I'm not a dentist, I'm just giving the opinion of many dentists that I've heard in recent years).

In order to have a good chance of success of the treatment, the dentists use special machines and techniques that are not covered by health insurance. Therefore the patient has to pay it himself.

but if you haven't signed anything beforehand, and hopefully later, you don't actually have to pay anything. The doctor must conclude a written contract with you about your own costs, which is only valid with your signature. If he doesn't have you, then theoretically he is not allowed to charge you anything.

The best thing to do is to contact the Independent Patient Advisory Service