All German civil servants have to be privately insured. Depending on their job/rank, they get Beihilfe from the federal state they work for (e.g. Bavaria). For example, a civil servant gets 50% Beihilfe, the other 50% must be insured privately. When the bill comes in from the doctor, the private insurance covers 50% and the Beihilfe the other 50% - the bill is duplicated, one is sent to the insurance while the other goes to the ..... Beihilfestelle. Beihilfe is not insurance in the true sense, it just pays for a part of medical treatment for civil servants.
HTH

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Note added at 2002-07-22 07:37:25 (GMT)
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P.S. my husband is a civil servant!