[moooo99]

> Germany and Netherlands report that theirs is even worse at providing any remotely advanced treatment.

It kind of depends on what you'd consider advanced treatment. I know a few people with chronic illnesses that are dependent on getting their (expensive) medications and they never had a problem with that. Besides the prescription fee of 5€ (not 100% sure on that one) they pay nothing out of their pocket.

But I've heard from people that that they often have problems for example with getting approval for new wheelchairs, accessibility adjustments for their cars, etc.

In general it is true that only necessities are covered by public health insurance. This makes sense in most cases for obvious reasons, but in some cases the limits seem totally arbitrary and are not beneficial to the consumer nor the insurer. Luckily I am young and healthy so my confrontations with our healthcare are limited to my bi-yearly dentist appointments, but I can absolutely imagine how there are gigantic bureaucratic hurdles when needing something remotely special.

[zaarn]

Generally, getting a wheelchair or similar is a bit of a paper war with the insurance. Once you have it though, the barrier is lower to get a replacement or upgrades.