I stand by my pervious review. They had an opportunity to fix things and instead they doubled-down.

On the advice of my boss, I went to speak with them directly. Absolutely unhelpful, rude, and uninterested in the pain you are enduring.

I will be changing Krankenkassen because if they are so intent on making me jump through hoops I already have gone through in order for them to just DENY needed care once I do, what will happen when I end up with a cancer diagnosis? How many conservative therapies will I have to try before they allow chemo? At what stage will they finally decide to provide treatment? Honestly, they would rather that I become disabled than give me the less expensive treatment now.

I truly believe that if I had better fluency in German or were German, I would not be treated so poorly. I do believe that they have discriminated against me as a foreigner.

If I am to stay in Germany and have any quality of life, I will have to use money from my US retirement funds if I decide to get the recommended surgery. I will also have to travel to Turkey to do it, because here I would never be able to afford it.

As for Barmer, their fees are extortionist, their coverage is abysmal, and I have never been shown so little compassion by a medical insurance company--not even an American one, which is saying something. While I know that German customer service lives up to its reputation as awful, Barmer really takes the cake here. Absolutely atrocious.

If you are an immigrant especially, AVOID Barmer. You will be driven absolutely mad by their poor medical coverage and even worse service. AVOID.