2023-05-05 07:37:27
In months of lockdown, good news has been a rarity; This also included the fact that the health insurance companies had to offer cures as a compulsory service for millions of people with statutory insurance. It was a far-sighted decision, because the enforced time-out left its mark on many Germans. Fit Reisen, the leading special tour operator in the health tourism market, has now prepared for the post-Corona period with special offers, says Managing Director Claudia Wagner.
WELT: Many Germans gained weight during the corona pandemic. Which cures are suitable to lose as many pounds as possible in the shortest possible time?
Claudia Wagner: You can lose weight healthily with a base cure, with interval and therapeutic fasting according to Buchinger or FX Mayr. Because there are now so many programs, the spa and wellness facilities have mostly specialized in one or two areas.
For example, anyone who wants to do intermittent fasting, an alkaline cure or therapeutic fasting according to Buchinger is in good hands at the “Klinik & Gesundheitszentrum am Kurpark” in Bad Salzschlirf. The “Maltese Clinic von Weckbecker” in Bad Brückenau is suitable for fasting hikers, the “Concordia Vitalhotel & SPA” in Oberstaufen for detox cures, and the “My Mayr Med Resort” in Bad Birnbach is ideally suited to purification using the FX Mayr method .
WELT: Are there also special offers for people with Long Covid?
Wagner: Yes, there are long-Covid programs that can be booked through us, for example in the “Hufeland Clinic” in Bad Mergentheim and in the “Paliesius Clinic” in Ignalina in Lithuania. Since the demand for long-Covid treatments is high, we will continue to expand this segment.
WELT: Health insurance companies have been paying for preventive medical measures in spas again since 2021. Does this also apply to long-Covid programs?
Wagner: The statutory health insurance companies have not yet finally clarified this question. Until then, however, those affected can get relief by booking subsidized healing cures that also address the post-Covid complaints.
WELT: Can you give those affected a few house numbers?
Wagner: Yes, especially in the Czech Republic. For example, the Radium Palace spa house in Jáchymov offers the program “Relaxation week after Covid-19”; the Falkensteiner “Spa Resort Marienbad” has a “Post-Covid19 Rehabilitation” in its portfolio. Even such complex treatments as the “cure for respiratory tract” in the “Spa & Wellness Hotel Silva”, also in Marienbad, are subsidized by the health insurance companies.
WELT: What exactly does subsidized mean?
Wagner: The subsidy paid by the health insurance company for an outpatient preventive treatment fully covers all medical treatments, and up to 90 percent of the costs of the treatment are reimbursed. All other costs, such as accommodation, meals or transfer, can be subsidized with up to 13 euros per day.
WELT: Are subsidized cures also possible abroad?
Wagner: Yes, a subsidy can be granted in all countries belonging to the European Union. A prerequisite for this, in addition to medical necessity, is that the spa facility has facilities that are comparable to German standards. As a rule, however, the guest initially makes an advance payment.
In order to be reimbursed later by the health insurance company, the spa guest must submit a detailed list of the services provided and their costs, signed by the treating physicians. In principle, treatment costs incurred abroad are only reimbursed to the extent that equivalent measures would be taken in Germany.
There are also opportunities abroad: View from the terrace of the “Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary & Holistic Spa” in Thailand
Those: fitreisen.de
WELT: Can you give a few more general tips for cures?
Wagner: Anyone who would like to take an outpatient preventive cure in accordance with the legal requirements (section 23, paragraph 2 of the Social Code Book V cure, editor’s note) should consult their family doctor two months before their planned departure, because the subsidies are linked to a medical indication. After consultation with the doctor, spa aspirants can then largely freely choose the spa location and the services.
WELT: In addition to classic spa treatments, you also have beauty, Ayurveda, yoga and detox packages in your portfolio. Is it possible to do an outpatient preventive treatment in a facility specializing in Ayurveda, yoga or detox?
Wagner: Absolutely, one can book, for example, a spa stay at the “Hotel Terme Metropole” in Abano Terme, Italy, where the “thermal wellness” also includes the “Ayurveda & Fango” and “yoga in a group” packages. For better orientation, we have marked all subsidized hotels on our website with a short subsidy button.
WELT: Shortcut button? You have to explain that.
Wagner: We give this button to hotels where you can apply for a discount. Because the health insurance companies also subsidize outpatient spa treatments like those in Abano Terme.
WELT: If you want to do something for your health on vacation, can the trip be subsidized by the health insurance company if it is an outpatient preventive treatment or spa treatment?
Wagner: Yes, that’s the idea behind it. Our spa offers are therefore usually a classic package tour with a certain number of spa treatments, which are determined by the doctors resident in the hotel after a consultation and are individually tailored to the needs of the guest.
WELT: Is a short-term subsidy the same as a prevention subsidy?
Wagner: No, that’s why there are different terms. The health insurance companies grant a prevention subsidy if hotel guests take part in a certified health program of the house. Exactly what this includes is regulated in paragraph 20, paragraph 1, SGB V.
For example, anyone who books the “Hatha Yoga Prevention” package at the “Yoga Vidya” center in Bad Meinberg can apply for a prevention subsidy of up to 150 euros from the health insurance company. From a financial point of view, a prevention subsidy is always lower than a short-term subsidy.
WELT: Can those with statutory health insurance actually take multiple paid cures?
Wagner: Yes, you are generally entitled to an outpatient preventive treatment every three years, but this can be the case even more often in medically particularly urgent cases.
WELT: As a spa guest, do you still run the risk of being considered stuffy?
Wagner: Not anymore, cures today are more like well-being or vitality holidays with a focus on detox, health, beauty or weight loss. And not only the name, but also the offer is always adapted to the latest scientific standards.
There are special offers for yoga lovers
Those: fitreisen.de
WELT: Yoga and wellness are trendy even among very young people of Generation Z, i.e. those born between 1995 and 2009. Where does this target group find it?
Wagner: For example at yogaescapes.de, this is a travel brand created by Fit Reisen especially for the young target group, which bundles yoga retreats and coaching in special places. For example the “Yoga Center The Frog’s House” on the Côte d’Azur, the “Reboot Yoga Camp” in Tyrol and the “Hotel Agia Paraskevi” in Greek Epirus.
WELT: And if you are too stiff for the sun salutation or if you consciously prefer to stroll around the spa garden with a spa mug like in the old days?
Wagner: Then you should travel to Bad Kissingen. The foyer there is the largest in Europe at 2,640 square meters and offers nostalgic flair par excellence. Several times a day, the so-called fountain women pour four of the seven healing waters of Bad Kissingen in the foyer.
WELT: A cure used to have a cure shadow. Do you have any tips for amorous nostalgics?
Wagner: Facilities specializing in health, detox and weight loss programs are good places to meet like-minded people of both genders.
Claudia Wagner is the managing director of Fit Reisen
Those: fitreisen.de
Hardly anyone knows the business of wellness and health travel as well as Claudia Wagner from Fit Reisen. The business administration graduate joined Fit Reisen in 1982; In 1993 she took over the post of managing director. After the product expansion of classic health and relaxation offers in thermal baths, spas and wellness resorts, the trained yoga teacher included Ayurveda treatments in Sri Lanka and India in 1992. Three years later, she expanded the Fit-Reisen portfolio with health packages based on traditional Chinese medicine.
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