Everybody living in Germany must have health insurance (you can find out why here).
And, with so many options to choose from, researching for the most suitable one can be (understandably) a bit intimidating, especially when you are trying to determine how much you will have to pay every month.
Whether you are considering public, private, or expat insurance, we’ve developed this guide to help you understand exactly how much health insurance costs in Germany.
Let’s get right into it.
Public health insurance
About 90% of German residents have public health insurance (Gesetzliche Krankenversicherung or GKV), which is the only option for employees earning less than €69,300. It operates on a contribution-based system, through which you pay a percentage of your income, depending mainly on your gross income.
This contribution is composed of:
- Health insurance: A general contribution rate of 14.6% of the income, which is the same across all providers.
- Provider-specific supplementary contribution: An additional percentage determined by the insurer. It usually sits between 1.2% and 2.7% of an individual’s earnings.
- Long-term care insurance: In addition to health insurance, everyone must pay into the long-term care insurance system, which amounts to 3.4% for most. Those older than 23 and without kids pay 4% in total, while those with two children or more get a 0.25% reduction per kid (to a maximum of 1%).
If you are running the numbers and freaking out a little, there’s a reason for relief: employers pay half of these three insurance contributions.
For example, let’s say you are a 30-year-old employee with no kids, earning €3,000 per month, and your health insurance charges 1.2% as a provider-specific supplementary contribution.
- Health insurance: €219
- Provider-specific supplementary contribution: €18
- Long-term care insurance: €69
Your total monthly contribution: €306
Your employer pays an additional: €306
Here is how these would look if you were making €6,000 per month:
- Health insurance: €378
- Provider-specific supplementary contribution: €31
- Long-term care insurance: €119
Your total monthly contribution: €528
Your employer pays an additional: €528
Some exceptions, like low-income employees and students, have reduced contributions.
It is also important to highlight that, due to current financial issues in the statutory health insurance system, many providers have recently increased their supplementary contributions, and it’s expected that more will be done throughout the next few years.
Also, the government may raise the state-mandated contributions due to financial difficulties in the healthcare sector.
If you think public insurance is the right choice for you, we have partnered with the country’s main providers to help you choose the more adequate option and sign up easily.
Sign up for public health insurance
Private health insurance
Next, we have private health insurance (Private Krankenversicherung or PKV), which, even if it’s used by just 10% of German residents, can offer several advantages over the public one:
- It can be less expensive
- You can get faster appointments
- And even better coverage in issues like dental or vision.
- Plus, you can even receive money back if you make no claims during the calendar year!
While the cost of public insurance is calculated simply by your income level, the cost of private insurance is a whole different story. Instead, it’s determined by several key factors:
- Age: since they have fewer age-related issues, younger people pay less.
- Health: private insurance providers usually check every applicant’s medical history, and if you have an existing health condition that will likely require treatment in the future, this can lead to risk surcharges, exclusion of coverage for certain treatments, or denial of coverage.
- Coverage level: Most providers have different plans, and the more expensive ones can include different levels of dental care, special treatments, travel insurance, and cashback.
Let’s imagine for a second that you want to get covered with the private insurance we always recommend: Feather. It’s a shock, we know.
If you are a 30-year-old employee (remember, employers pay for half of the insurance) with a yearly income of €72.000 gross, then your monthly contribution would be €236 for our Standard plan, €308 for the Plus one, and €347 for the Premium one. Plus, this price includes long-term care insurance.
Remember our example from earlier? If you stayed on public health insurance, it would cost you between €282 and €171 extra while providing worse coverage.
And this does not even consider the potential cashback you might get from not using your insurance.
Sign up for private health insurance
Are you by any chance a non-EU citizen with a temporary residence permit? And have you been living in Germany for less than four years? Then you are in luck.
You are eligible for our short-term plans, which are 50% cheaper because they don’t include old-age savings.
Expat health insurance
If you’re self-employed, a freelancer, a student, or still looking for a job and are ineligible for public and private health insurance or simply prefer a more affordable option, expat health insurance could be just what you need.
Our policy has several advantages:
- It has few eligibility requirements.
- It fulfills all legal residence requirements for Germany.
- Can be canceled anytime (monthly).
- And it’s significantly less expensive than insurance with more comprehensive coverage.
Feather has consistently been ranked as one of the top expat health insurance providers, mainly due to the extent of our coverage and our comprehensive English-speaking support. This makes getting insurance much less stressful for incoming expats and new arrivals.
To keep things simple, we offer two expat insurance plans:
- Our Basic plan covers the necessities (including essential coverage for accidents, emergencies, and new illnesses). It starts at €72 per month.
- Our Premium plan starts at €134 per month and includes additional benefits such as dental and eye checkups, cancer screenings, and pregnancy exams and deliveries. You can also upgrade to it if you already have the Basic plan.
Could this be what you need?
Expat health insurance is great for those not eligible for public or private insurance…but what if you have been in Germany for more than five years? For cases like that, we have developed our long-term expat health insurance.
Unlike other kinds of insurance, the monthly price depends not just on your chosen plan and your age but also on the voluntary deductible that you choose to add to your policy.
Simply put, the higher the deductible, the lower the monthly price.
What if you have dependents?
Depending on your lifestyle, getting coverage for a non-working partner or a child can add an additional layer of complexity.
Regarding public insurance, you can add dependents for no additional cost. This applies to partners who earn (in 2024) less than €538 per month and €6,456 per year through a mini-job.
Meanwhile, children can be kept as dependents on your insurance plan until they are 18 or until they are 23 if they earn up to €538 per month with a mini-job. Some exceptions apply for students.
Adding a dependent to public health insurance is quite simple. Simply send your current provider their information, and they’ll guide you through the process.
As for private insurance, each dependent must get their own plan.
If you already know that private health insurance is the right choice, you can submit your own application here and apply here for your dependents. Our experts will look through all the information and get back to you within a couple of days with a quote.
Any tips on saving on health insurance?
Every little Euro counts, and with a bit of research, some ways can help you save money on your insurance:
- Sign up early if you choose a private plan. Usually, below 45 years old is early enough.
- Opt for higher deductibles: plans with higher deductibles have lower premiums. (You’ll still need to cover the deductible, so consider how often you use health services to determine if this if for you)
- Take advantage of cashback bonuses: you might get some money back if you don’t make claims.
- Check out potential subsidies: freelance artists can apply for the Künstlersozialkasse, and students under 30 get a discount. Take a look around, and you’ll surely find you qualify for a subsidy.
- Look into bonus programs: Many insurance companies have systems that reward you for participating in health-promoting activities.
But, it’s important to note the cheapest insurance is not always the most affordable one. Here’s what Julian, head of insurance at Feather, had to say about that:
Still unsure of what you need?
We get it, it’s a lot of information. Public, private, expat, plans, percentages, subsidies, dependents, cashbacks…it’s enough to cause a migraine.
So if you are still unsure of what’s the best option for you, we have developed a recommendation tool that can analyze your lifestyle and determine which policy is more suitable for you.
And if you prefer a more personalized touch, we are here for you! Send us a message or book a call with an expert.
