Self-Pay Longevity in Germany

Here is the short version: your statutory insurance pays for prevention and basic screening. A few of those checks happen to help with longevity goals. Most don't.

So let's split it into what you get, what's covered when there's a medical reason, and what you'll be paying for yourself.

The regular prevention catalogue:

• Health check-up from age 35, every 3 years: your history, blood pressure, a basic blood panel, urine
• Skin cancer screening from 35, every 2 years
• Colorectal cancer screening: iFOBT stool test yearly ages 50 to 54, then every 2 years from 55, or a screening colonoscopy from age 50. Men and women have had equal access since 1 April 2025, after a G-BA decision on 16 January 2025 ^[1].
• Breast cancer screening: mammography every 2 years, ages 50 to 75. The upper age went from 69 to 75, with participation starting 2024-07-01. A 2026 amendment to the Brustkrebs-Früherkennungs-Verordnung (in force 5 March 2026) opens the legal door to mammography for women aged 45 to 49 ^[8]. Whether the GKV actually pays for that group is a separate question, and the G-BA decision on it is expected around October 2026.
• Cervical cancer screening
• Prostate exam from 45
• Vaccinations per STIKO

Medications you get covered when there's a clear reason:

• Blood pressure drugs for confirmed hypertension
• Statins for high cardiovascular risk or established cardiovascular disease (your heart and blood vessels); in the GKV they are restricted to high-risk patients, not any raised risk
• Metformin for type 2 diabetes
• HRT (hormone therapy) when menopause calls for it
• GLP-1 agonists for diabetes

What GKV does NOT cover:

• Expanded blood panels (ApoB, Lp(a), hsCRP, omega-3 index, full hormone panels, microbiome)
• Biological or epigenetic age tests (these read the chemical tags sitting on your DNA, which shift as you get older)
• Whole-body MRI as routine screening
• Coronary calcium score
• VO2 max tests outside a cardiology indication
• DEXA scan (unless osteoporosis is suspected)
• CGM (a continuous glucose monitor) without diabetes
• GLP-1 for obesity without diabetes (mostly not)
• Longevity consultations at private practices
• IV therapies

Expect roughly €150 to €450 for a full longevity blood panel, €50 to €150 for a DEXA scan, €150 to €300 for a coronary calcium score, and €800 to €2,500 for a whole-body MRT in 2026. The cheap diagnostics carry the strongest evidence, the expensive imaging the weakest.

Here are real reference prices from large and mid-size German cities. The ranges are wide on purpose. The low end is a budget lab, the high end is a premium private practice for the exact same test.

Expanded lab diagnostics:

• Full longevity blood panel (30 to 60 markers): €150 to €450
• ApoB, Lp(a): €25 to €80
• Full hormone panel: €150 to €300
• Omega-3 index: €40 to €80
• Microbiome analysis: €250 to €500
• Epigenetic age test: €250 to €500
• Heavy metal test: €100 to €250

Imaging:

• DEXA scan: €50 to €150
• Coronary calcium score (an Agatston CT screening): €150 to €300. One thing worth knowing: the G-BA added CT coronary angiography (CCTA) to the GKV catalogue on 18 January 2024, and reimbursement kicked in on 1 January 2025. But that only counts if you have stable chest pain and a suspected CAD (coronary artery disease). The pure Agatston screening, the kind you book just to check, stays self-pay (an IGeL).
• Carotid intima-media measurement: €70 to €180
• Whole-body MRI: €800 to €2,500
• Cardiac MRI: €400 to €800

Functional diagnostics:

• Spiroergometry (the lab test where you breathe into a mask while cycling or running flat-out, measuring VO2 max directly): €150 to €300
• Resting and stress ECG: €50 to €150

Interventions:

• IV vitamin therapy: €60 to €250 per session
• NAD+ IV: €200 to €500 per session
• IHHT: €30 to €80 per session
• Cryotherapy chamber: €20 to €50 per session
• Hyperbaric oxygen therapy: €100 to €300 per session

Consultations:

• Longevity private practice first visit: €200 to €500
• Follow-ups: €100 to €300
• Heilpraktiker first consultation: €80 to €200

Online services:

• Blood panel plus coaching subscriptions: €50 to €200 per month
• Wearable-based programs: €20 to €100 per month

Short answer: usually not for longevity alone. Here is the longer version.

Private insurance (PKV) contracts vary a lot. Many plans do pay for noticeably more longevity-relevant stuff:

• Expanded lab diagnostics on a physician's order
• Non-physician services (a Heilpraktiker, the German non-medical practitioner) to some extent
• Longer prevention appointments
• Some imaging even without a specific medical reason

Still, PKV is usually not worth it just for longevity. Stretch the extra premium over a few decades and it tends to cost you more than the longevity benefit is actually worth.

Already in the GKV and want to bolt on a supplement? You have three options:

• Outpatient supplementary: often covers Heilpraktiker and expanded prevention
• Heilpraktiker supplementary: just for Heilpraktiker services
• Prevention supplementary: expanded GKV prevention

Typical premiums run €10 to €50 per month. They usually pay back 70 to 80 percent up to a yearly cap (typically €1,000 to €1,500).

One tip before you sign: read the fine print. Check the waiting periods, the yearly caps, and which methods are actually covered. That last one trips people up.

For most people the sweet spot is a yearly expanded blood panel plus a wearable, a DEXA and VO2 max test, and a longevity check-up now and then: roughly €700 to €1,200 per year. Skip routine whole-body MRI unless you are genuinely high-risk, and screen every service against the evidence first.

Before you pay for anything, do one thing: look it up on IGeL-Monitor. It's run by the Medizinischer Dienst Bund, and at igel-monitor.de they publish independent benefit-harm ratings for self-pay services ^[3]. As of mid-2026 they have fully rated around 60 of them (0 positiv, 3 tendenziell positiv, ~31 tendenziell negativ or negativ, ~26 unklar), with a handful still in progress. The exact split shifts, so check the IGeL-A-Z index on the site before you quote a number.

A heads-up on the big-ticket ones. Whole-body MRI as a preventive screen isn't in the IGeL-Monitor catalogue at all. The closest entries are MRT der Brust zur Krebsfrüherkennung (rated "unklar" since the June 2025 reassessment) and MRT zur Früherkennung einer Alzheimer-Demenz ("tendenziell negativ"). The ACR and European radiology societies say the same thing: there's no strong evidence that whole-body MRI screening lowers death rates in healthy people.

A few more that people ask about. HBOT for Long-COVID is rated "unklar." NAD+ IV drips, the Myers cocktail, and high-dose Vitamin C IV outside cancer care aren't in the catalogue at all. The critical takes on those come from GWUP and the skeptic literature, not from IGeL-Monitor, so check the specific service before you hand over your card.

Now, the part you came for. Here's a priority ladder that works for most people.

Tier 1. Baseline (free or already in GKV):

• Use regular GKV prevention
• No smoking, little alcohol
• Daily movement, strength training 2 to 3 times a week
• 7 to 8 hours of sleep

Tier 2. Low effort, high value (€200 to €500 per year):

• Yearly expanded blood panel (including ApoB, Lp(a), hsCRP, HbA1c, fasting insulin, vitamin D, B12, ferritin)
• DEXA every 2 to 3 years
• Yearly VO2 max test
• A wearable (Whoop, Oura, Garmin)

Tier 3. Medium effort (€500 to €1,500 per year):

• Yearly longevity private practice visit
• Coronary calcium score (every 5 years if normal)
• Epigenetic age test every 2 to 3 years
• IV vitamin therapy for documented deficiencies

Tier 4. High effort (€1,500 and up per year):

• Whole-body MRI only if risk-stratified (see below), not as routine
• Continuous CGM without diabetes
• NAD+ IV programs
• Off-label drugs (see rapamycin guide)

For most people, the sweet spot is Tier 1 plus Tier 2, with Tier 3 now and then. That lands around €300 to €800 per year, plus €20 to €30 per month for a wearable. Call it €700 to €1,200 a year.

Master DACH decision table by annual budget

Another way to see it: by what's in your wallet. This shows where the next euro should go. It works across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland (just swap in the local name for the GP check-up).

€0 / year:

• GKV Vorsorge (Germany, every 3 years from age 35) and Austrian Vorsorgeuntersuchung (free annually). Switzerland has no free annual general check-up equivalent to the Austrian Vorsorgeuntersuchung: basic insurance (OKP/LAMal) covers defined preventive services (such as mammography from 50, colorectal screening, vaccinations) plus medically necessary care. Cost-sharing (Franchise/Selbstbehalt) applies to ordinary care, though organised screening programmes are Franchise-exempt with only a 10% Selbstbehalt.
• Sit-rise test: get up off the floor without using your hands. Sounds silly, but it's a surprisingly strong predictor of how long you'll live ^[7]
• Grip-strength self-assessment (handheld dynamometer ~€40 one-time, or a simple squeeze test)
• Rockport walk test: brisk 1-mile walk, used to estimate VO2 max

€200 / year:

• Expanded blood panel IGeL (ApoB, Lp(a), hsCRP, fasting insulin, HbA1c): ~€150
• Home Omega-3 Index test (dried blood spot): ~€45
• Remainder: basic vitamin D testing or top-ups

€500 / year:

• Everything from €200, plus:
• DEXA scan: ~€50 to €120
• VO2 max test (sports medicine centre): ~€100 to €200
• Polar H10 chest strap + HRV4Training: ~€100 one-time
• Basic supplements on known deficiencies (Vitamin D, omega-3, creatine)

€1,500 / year:

• Everything from €500, plus:
• Yearly epigenetic test: TruDiagnostic TruAge Complete (€500 plus EU import VAT) OR GlycanAge (€300, lab in Zagreb, Croatia, EU-internal shipping)
• One longevity physician visit (physician with Zusatzbezeichnung Naturheilverfahren or Ernährungsmedizin, or with a Präventionsmedizin Fortbildung): ~€300

€3,000+ / year:

• Everything from €1,500, plus:
• Whole-body MRI if medically indicated (see risk stratification below)
• NAD+ IV if you prefer it
• Full longevity private-practice membership (quarterly visits, labs included)

Zusatzversicherung quick table (Germany, typical features as of 2026)

Treat these as rough guides, not promises. Always check the specific Tarif before you sign.

• Hallesche Naturheilkunde-Zusatztarife (e.g. NaturPRIVAT): ~€20 to €40/mo, covers Heilpraktiker and some IGeL, annual cap ~€1,000 to €1,500. One thing to untangle: NK.Bonus is a full Krankenvollversicherung (a complete PKV), not a top-up tariff. Different product class, and it's currently closed to new customers anyway. Hallesche's open PKV full line is NK.select S/L/XL with NK.select FLEX switching.
• Münchener Verein Kompakt: ~€15 to €30/mo, Heilpraktiker-focused, cap ~€1,000
• Barmenia ambulante Zusatztarife: ~€10 to €25/mo, basic IGeL supplement, cap ~€500 to €1,200

Before you sign, look at three things: the waiting periods (often 3 to 8 months), the excluded methods (bioresonance is commonly out), and which labs are in-network.

Physician pathway

Want prescriptions (rapamycin off-label, HRT, GLP-1 on indication) plus lifestyle coaching in one place? Then skip the Heilpraktiker route. Go straight to a physician with a Zusatzbezeichnung in Naturheilverfahren or Ernährungsmedizin. Watch the labels here: Präventivmedizin is only a curricular Fortbildung (a course you complete), not a formal Zusatzbezeichnung. The Heilpraktiker longevity guide walks you through searching Ärztekammer-Suche and arzt-auskunft.de, plus what a typical first visit looks like.

Whole-body MRI: a risk-stratified rule

Drop the vague line that "whole-body MRI adds little for low-risk people." Here's a cleaner way to decide, and the whole-body MRI screening guide goes deeper on the trade-offs.

Consider whole-body MRI if any one of these is true for you:

• Li-Fraumeni syndrome (a germline TP53 carrier): annual whole-body MRI is part of the Toronto Protocol ^[4]
• A strong family history of early cancer: 2+ first-degree relatives with cancer before age 55
• Prior neurological symptoms that need imaging on clinical grounds

BRCA1/2 carriers do not need whole-body MRI for standard surveillance. The right protocol, per the NCCN HBOC guideline and the German S3-Leitlinie Mammakarzinom, is an annual breast MRI (with mammography from age 30), plus risk-reducing steps for ovarian cancer ^{[5, 6]}.

For everyone else, here's the catch: when your real risk is low, false-positive findings are common. And a false alarm means anxiety, more tests, and sometimes a procedure you never needed. For truly low-risk people, that downside likely outweighs the upside. A focused coronary calcium CT and a DEXA give you far more useful evidence per euro.