Health Insurance is mandatory for everyone in Germany, and regulated by national law. Health insurance arrangements are individual, and therefore coverages may vary by person.
The statutory health insurance is run by the German government and covers out-patient and in-patient treatment, prescription drugs, aids and partly dental treatment.
The statutory health insurance is a family insurance, which covers non-working spouses and children without additional contributions. About 85 percent of the German population is insured under the German version of a national health system. There are three options allowing you to be insured in a GKV:
If you are an employee (i.e. hold a working contract) and your gross monthly income is under €54.900 (as of 2015) per year you are obliged to enroll in the GKV. You will pay a fixed percentage of your gross income that is mandated by law. The employer contributes 50% to the insurance premium. Your share (50%) is automatically deducted from your salary.
You can voluntarily join the GKV. You can do this if you e.g. hold a fellowship or earn more than €54.900 per year.
If certain conditions are fulfilled you can join the GKV as a family member of someone enrolled in a mandatory health plan. That entitles you to the same benefits. You are considered an eligible family member if you are (i) the spouse and have no (or low) own income, (ii) the child and not older than 25 years, or (iii) a child not older than 30 years if you are a student, and not beyond the 14 semester of studies.
Private health insurance can be chosen by any employee with an estimated gross income of more than €54.900 per year or if you held a fellowship. In contrast to the statutory health insurance, the contributions to and coverage of the private insurances are not legally bound. The fees are based on income depending on state of health, age and the insurance rate of the insured so that fees vary for individual insurance holders.
The scope of services from private insurance companies is not regulated by the state and is often more extensive than statutory insurance. Services can also be adapted for each policyholder individually. The insured person usually first pays all treatment costs and will get reimbursed by the Insurance upon submission of the bill.
Please note that some of the insurance companies demand a health certificate from a German doctor. Without this certificate you will have to wait for some months until all or some parts of the coverage, e.g. artificial teeth/denture or birth come into effect.
Other helpful page to understand the German Health System:
We strongly recommend taking out liability Insurance (private Haftplichtversicherung). It is very useful and inexpensive and covers all damage you may cause by mistake, e.g. forgetting to snuff a lighted candle and causing an entire apartment block to burn down. The International Office is happy to help you with this.
However, it does not cover any damage to yourself, your family members, or your own property. If you want to have your own property insured you need to have a household insurance.
Household insurance (Hausratversicherung) will cover your own property in case of fire, flood, burglary etc., but will not cover you for any damage you cause to your neighbours' property. Renters can take out Property Insurance to cover their belongings (including their bike) and the premiums depend on the size of the flat and the value of your belongings as well as the value of your bike.