Health insurance in Germany

In Germany, it is the compulsory to take out the health insurance. A distinction is a made between the statutory and private health insurance. There are two different systems and you may cannot switch between them freely.

It is advisable to take out the international health insurance for the first few days or weeks of your stay in Germany before you have health insurance. This will cover you in the event of illness, especially as proof of health insurance may be required when applying for a visa.

Statutory health insurance

Most of the employees in Germany have statutory health insurance. If you have statutory health insurance, you will choose from a wide range of health insurance providers to find one that suits you best. You can find a list of all the statutory health insurance providers here.

Statutory health insurance covers a number of aspects and characteristics that make it unique.

• The amount of your health insurance premium depends on your income and the type of insurance you choose.
• Doctor’s visits and medications are usually paid for directly by the health insurance provider. Usually, you will not receive a bill.
• Your family also benefits from your insurance cover: For example, if your spouse does not work, you can include them in your statutory health insurance free of additional charge. The same applies for your children.

Health insurance benefits

If you fall ill, you are in good hands in Germany. Your health insurance provider covers the costs of all urgently needed medical treatments. The basic insurance cover provided by statutory health insurance providers includes the following services:

• Other services may or may not be covered by your health insurance provider. 
• Examples of such services include professional dental cleaning and skin cancer screening. 
• Please contact your health insurance provider directly to find out if they will cover certain services you may need.

Please beware

By taking out health insurance, you automatically take out long-term care insurance. Long-term care insurance covers you if, for example, you are no longer able to look after yourself due to a serious illness – in other words, if you need the help of a career.

Private health insurance

Above a certain salary, you can opt for private health insurance. This salary level is called the compulsory insurance limit. You can find the current applicable salary level on the official website of the Federal Government. Private health insurance is particularly important for people with high incomes, the self-employed and civil servants.  

You can also take out statutory health insurance as well as individual private supplementary insurance. Popular examples include supplementary dental insurance and insurance policies that provide hospitalisation benefits.

Private health insurance differs from statutory health insurance in a number of ways.

• Some medical services are only available to people with private health insurance. There are also exclusive private practices that are only open to privately insured patients. People with statutory health insurance are responsible for paying bills from private practices themselves.
• Unlike with statutory health insurance, private health insurance contributions are not based on your income. Instead, they are based on personal characteristics such as age, gender, occupation and state of health.
• Privately insured people must initially pay their medical bills themselves. Afterwards, patients receive a refund from their health insurance company for the amount they have paid.
• Additionally, an important difference is that children are not covered by private health insurance free of charge. There are separate premiums for each child; however, thanks to child and youth rates, they are usually much lower than for adults.
• Once you have opted for private health insurance, it is difficult to switch to statutory health insurance. You have to meet certain requirements that make it almost impossible to change, especially as you get older. The decision to take out private health insurance should be carefully considered, as premiums increase with age.

Health insurance without an employer

Even if you are not employed, you will still require health insurance. The type of health insurance you need depends on which group you belong to:

• Family: Children, spouses and registered partners can usually be insured together through family insurance, with one adult paying into statutory health insurance.
• Apprentices, students and interns: You are generally required to take out statutory health insurance. There are a few exceptions, e.g. students over the age of 30.
• Jobseekers: EU citizens can use their European Health Insurance Card. People without EU or EEA citizenship who are not in employment, for example because they have a jobseeker visa, must take out private health insurance. There are special rates for expats in this case.