Can wound dressings be prescribed?
Yes. In Germany, qualifying dressing materials (Verbandmittel) can be prescribed at the expense of statutory health insurance when medically required.
Wound care · Germany
HS Dressings in Germany: Prescriptions, Costs and Health Insurance
Do you regularly pay for HS dressings yourself?
If HS wounds drain regularly, dressing materials can become a recurring expense.
In Germany, qualifying wound dressings can be prescribed under statutory health insurance. What can be prescribed depends on the type of product and your individual care needs.
This guide helps you understand the system and prepare the right questions for your doctor, pharmacy or insurer. It applies to statutory health insurance (GKV) in Germany only; with private insurance, your policy decides, and other countries have different rules.
Last checked: . German wound-product reimbursement rules are changing. We review this page when the underlying G-BA rules or the law change.
Need help thinking about drainage, friction, dressing changes or odour first? Go to the HS Wound Care & Dressing Guide
The short answer
Does that mean every wound-care product is covered?
No. German reimbursement rules distinguish ordinary Verbandmittel and dressings with supplementary properties from certain other wound-treatment products. The rules are not identical.
Should I ask for a specific brand?
Not necessarily. Start by describing what your HS wounds need — for example drainage management, protection from friction or frequent dressing changes — and discuss an appropriate dressing with your care team.
Why the terminology matters
German statutory health insurance distinguishes between different types of wound-care products.
Verbandmittel cover wounds or absorb wound fluid, or both. Some have supplementary properties — keeping a wound moist or binding odour, for example — and still count as Verbandmittel. These can be prescribed directly.
Other wound-treatment products (sonstige Produkte zur Wundbehandlung) go further and actively influence wound healing. As a rule, they only become prescribable once the G-BA has assessed their medical benefit and added them to a separate list (Annex V of the Pharmaceuticals Directive). A transitional rule applies to certain of these products until 31 December 2026.
You do not need to work out the legal category of a product yourself. If you are unsure whether a specific product can be prescribed, ask the prescribing practice, pharmacy, medical-supply provider or your health insurer before buying it privately.
Read the current G-BA wound-product reimbursement rules (in German)
Prepare your dressing conversation
Answer three short questions. Nothing you select is sent to AcneInversa.life.
Your dressing-access checklist
Before you continue
No checklist yet. Choose at least one practical problem above and press “Create my checklist”.
In the appointment folder you can add the question “Can we discuss whether suitable wound dressings can be prescribed for my HS?” to your list. Nothing is transferred automatically.
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What might I pay?
Adults with German statutory health insurance generally pay the statutory co-payment for prescribed Verbandmittel unless an exemption applies. Children and young people under 18 pay no co-payment.
Until 31 December 2026 the co-payment is 10% of the price, at least €5 and at most €10 — but never more than the actual price of the item.
From 1 January 2027 the amounts rise: under the Statutory Health Insurance Contribution Rate Stabilisation Act (GKV-Beitragssatzstabilisierungsgesetz), the co-payment becomes 10% of the price, at least €7.50 and at most €15 — still never more than the item costs.
If you pay a lot of co-payments in a year, you can be exempted for the rest of that year once you reach an annual limit: 2% of your gross annual household income, or 1% if you are classed as seriously chronically ill. Your insurer decides whether and when this applies to you — keep your co-payment receipts.
Where can I get prescribed dressings?
Depending on the prescription and supply arrangement, prescribed dressing materials may be supplied through places such as pharmacies or medical-supply and wound-care providers.
If you are unsure where to redeem a prescription, ask the prescribing practice or your insurer.
What if a product isn’t covered?
Work through it step by step:
- Clarify what was refused Was the problem a specific product, the product category, the prescription itself, or your insurer’s reimbursement rules? The answer decides who to ask next.
- Ask whether a prescribable alternative can meet the same need Ask your practice whether another, prescribable dressing can do the same practical job — for example absorb drainage, reduce friction or stick more gently.
- Ask the pharmacy or medical-supply provider to clarify reimbursement status Pharmacies and medical-supply providers can often tell you whether a product can be supplied on a statutory-insurance prescription.
- If needed, contact your health insurer before paying privately If anything is still unclear, ask your health insurer before you pay for something yourself on an ongoing basis. Ask for an answer you can refer back to.
Related pages
HS Wound Care & Dressing Guide What matters with drainage, friction, dressing changes and odour — with no product recommendations. Cost coverage for HS in Germany Applications to your health insurer: biologics, surgery, home nursing care, rehabilitation and appeals. HS Costs in Germany: GKV Co-payment Limits Explained The annual 2% or 1% GKV co-payment ceiling — with a private Krankenkasse checklist. My HS Care Team: appointment folder A printable folder for collecting your questions before your next appointment.
Sources
Last reviewed: · Next review: · Editorial Policy
- Verbandmittel and other wound-treatment products (in German) Federal Joint Committee (G-BA), Germany · Link checked: 2026-09-24
- FAQ on the prescribability of medical devices (in German) Federal Joint Committee (G-BA), Germany · Link checked: 2026-09-24
- Section 31 SGB V – medicines and dressings (in German) Federal Ministry of Justice, Germany · Link checked: 2026-09-24
- Section 61 SGB V – co-payments (in German) Federal Ministry of Justice, Germany · Link checked: 2026-09-24
- Section 62 SGB V – annual co-payment limit (in German) Federal Ministry of Justice, Germany · Link checked: 2026-09-24
- Statutory Health Insurance Contribution Rate Stabilisation Act (in German) Federal Ministry of Health, Germany · Link checked: 2026-09-24