How health insurance system works in Germany?

Member since 20 July 2018

Ali4241Member21 July 2018 20:31:43

Hi All,

We are planning to move to Germany from Norway. The move is related to job in Germany. What we would like to know is that how the Germany health insurance works? I have read that there are two categories depending on your annual income and other conditions. But to understand better can anyone kindly explain me in a simpler way. My question is what happens when I visit a doctor in Germany e.g., for a fever case? If I have private insurance is it going to pay all the expenses or part of it? Is it like in France that 70% of the visit to doctor (in most cases) is covered by the Carte Vitale and 30% by the mutuelle (i.e., the private health insurance)? In Norway, when you visit a doctor for a normal case, you have to pay something by yourself e.g., 100-300 NOKs depending upon the case (even if you are covered by the state health insurance).

Also, any rough idea about the monthly payment for a normal private health insurance? I checked one insurance and it gave me a monthly price of euros 350. This is a bit high for me. Do the employers pay part of such a private insurance? I have a family of 3 so is it normal price per month?

Thanks.

Best Regards,
Ali

beppi Germany/Singapore Expert

Member since 08 August 2010

Germany & Singapore Expert

beppiGermany/Singapore Expert22 July 2018 09:43:22

15597

You asked about many different aspects of German health insurance.
In my reply, I will not talk about who can or cannot join which of the two systems (public or private), as this is very complicated and was covered in previous posts on this forum.
Regarding payments, a publicly insured person just shows his/her insurance card when visiting a doctor or clinic, and the costs are directly charged to the insurer. A co-payment by the insured person is only required for some non-standard treatment (e.g. certain dental items), for hospitalization (I think it's EUR10/day) and medicine (EUR5/item).
A privately insured person gets the bill directly from the doctor, has to pay it him/herself and apply for reimbursement from the insurer. Depending on the tariff (there are hundreds at any level of coverage) you'd get all or only part reimbursed.
EUR350/month is cheap for a private insurer and most likely covers only yourself. (Unlike in the public scheme, family members without own income CANNOT be added at no charge at private insurers.)
The employer pays roughly half of what a public insurer would cost, regardless of whether you are privately insured or public.

Ali4241 Member

Member since 20 July 2018

Ali4241Member22 July 2018 10:01:57

Ok. Thanks for the reply. Its informative.

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TominStuttgart Germany Expert

Member since 19 March 2012

TominStuttgartGermany Expert23 July 2018 10:12:19

2793

This subject has been covered again and again. Best to look through what has already been posted - rather than to expect someone here to take the time to go over such a long subject. Otherwise, one can find lots of explainations at Google under "german health system". One can start at wikipedia for a good overview. Then feel free to ask any specific questions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Healthcare_in_Germany