Health insurance: compulsory, voluntary or private?

 What kind of health insurance is possible remains a closed book for many people. We decode the most important sticking points about your own health insurance and show what insured persons should pay attention to in their respective stages of life.

The essentials in brief:

• In which insurance status you are grouped, usually depends on the individual living conditions.
• When a new phase of life begins, health insurance needs to be reviewed so that you are properly secured not only in terms of supply, but also financially.

compulsorily insured

Employees with an annual gross income of up to EUR 64,350 (EUR 5,362.50 per month) are automatically covered by statutory health insurance. Since January 1, 2019, employers and employees have paid equal contributions to statutory health insurance. This continues to apply to compulsory long-term care insurance, where the contribution increased by 0.5 points to 3.05 percent of gross income as of January 1, 2019. Contributors without children have to pay 3.3 percent through the childless supplement (0.25 percent).

Insured persons are free to choose an approved statutory health insurance company and are entitled to the valid benefits. If you are looking for a suitable health insurance company, you should pay attention to the extras and services that the health insurance company offers.

Voluntarily insured

High earners who earn more than EUR 5,362.50 gross per month have greater freedom of choice: they can take out statutory or private health insurance. Whoever stays in a statutory fund is now considered to be voluntarily insured. Insured persons then not only pay their contributions from their earnings, but also have to pay proportionate contributions on other income. However, low earners can also be insured voluntarily, for example pensioners or family members who no longer meet the requirements for compulsory insurance.

The disadvantage: You then usually have to pay higher contributions than those who are compulsorily insured. Every time there is a change in their personal life situation, those who are voluntarily insured should therefore check whether and under what conditions they can switch to the cheaper compulsory insurance.

privately insured

High earners and the self-employed can also take out private health insurance instead of statutory health insurance and initially benefit from low premiums. The disadvantage is that private health insurance cannot be extended to other family members free of charge and insurance premiums usually increase over the course of life. A return to the statutory fund is usually impossible.

People with private health insurance should therefore set aside money for the continuous increases in contributions from the outset. The contribution to statutory health insurance can also change. In contrast to private health insurance, this takes the amount of income and not increased expenses as the basis for calculation.

Peculiarity in married couples

In the case of married people, the type of health insurance often determines the amount of the contribution. If both have statutory health insurance, the monthly payments are based on their own income. However, if one partner is voluntarily legally insured and the other privately insured, the statutory fund can use the income of the privately insured spouse to calculate the contributions of the legally insured partner. If you have children, you can claim tax exemptions.

The family

Statutory health insurance makes it possible for spouses and children to be insured free of charge via the paying member. Provided that their monthly income does not exceed 435 euros. Or they earn no more than 450 euros per month in a mini job. This rule also applies to pensioners who are not compulsorily insured.

Pensioner

Anyone who draws a pension and was legally insured for 90 percent of the second half of their working life is listed as a compulsory insured person with their statutory health insurance company. Since August 2017, pensioners have been credited with a flat rate of three more years of insurance for each child. The new regulation also applies to everyone who has already retired. Insured persons who are or are retiring should definitely have their health insurance company check their status and, if necessary, have it changed to their advantage.

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