Health insurance in Germany – statutory or private, 2026 contributions and finding a doctor
Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →
Health insurance in Germany is compulsory from the day you live here, and the choice you make early on can be hard to undo. Here is how statutory and private cover compare in 2026, what you will pay, how to add your family and where to turn when you need a doctor.
Health insurance in Germany is compulsory for everyone who lives here. For 2026 the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) puts the average additional contribution at 2.9 per cent, the income threshold for compulsory statutory insurance at €77,400 a year and the contribution ceiling at €5,812.50 a month. Since 1 October 2025 doctors, hospitals and pharmacies must use the ePA (electronic patient record) that statutorily insured people have had since 15 January 2025 unless they objected.
For 2027 a Labour Ministry draft proposes a threshold of €84,150 and a ceiling of €76,500 a year – still subject to cabinet approval and the Bundesrat's consent.
Is health insurance compulsory in Germany?
Yes. Under the Insurance Contract Act, anyone living in Germany who is not in gesetzliche Krankenversicherung (statutory health insurance, GKV) must hold private cover from an insurer licensed in Germany, with a deductible of at most €5,000 a year. People with no other cover who were last statutorily insured become compulsorily insured there again. Roughly 90 per cent of the population are in the statutory system, says the GKV-Spitzenverband, the national association of statutory funds.
| Your situation | Where you are insured |
|---|---|
| Employee earning more than €603 a month and not more than €77,400 a year | Statutory, compulsory |
| First job in Germany, pay above the threshold | Exempt: join a statutory fund voluntarily within three months of starting work, or go private |
| Statutory member whose pay rises above the threshold | You leave only at year-end, if next year's pay also exceeds next year's threshold |
| Student | Statutory and compulsory after family insurance ends, up to age 30 |
| Pensioner insured in another EU country | Register your Portable Document S1 with a German fund of your choice |
| Researcher with a research permit | May join voluntarily within three months of taking up residence |
Source: Federal Ministry of Health, Social Code Book V (SGB V) and GKV-Spitzenverband, read 23 September 2026.
Mind the gap before your first job: Make it in Germany advises taking out travel health insurance at home to cover the time between arrival and the start of employment. For a residence permit you need cover valid in Germany – Berlin's immigration office says foreign insurance is generally not enough.
What does statutory health insurance cost in 2026?
Statutory contributions are a percentage of your pay, and you and your employer each pay half, additional contribution included. Each Krankenkasse (health insurance fund) sets its own additional rate. On 23 September 2026 the GKV-Spitzenverband listed 93 funds, charging from 2.18 per cent (BKK firmus) to 4.39 per cent (BKK24).
| Contribution (2026) | Rate or amount |
|---|---|
| General rate | 14.6 per cent of pay; 14.0 per cent without sick-pay entitlement |
| Average additional contribution | 2.9 per cent |
| Pay counted up to | €5,812.50 a month (€69,750 a year) |
| Long-term care insurance (Pflegeversicherung) | 3.6 per cent; 4.2 per cent if childless from age 23, the surcharge paid by you alone |
| Your care share as a parent | 1.8 per cent with one child, falling to 0.8 per cent with five or more under 25 (more in Saxony); children are normally reported automatically since 1 July 2025 |
| Voluntary member above the threshold | At most €1,017.19 a month, with an employer subsidy of €471.32 |
| Self-employed, minimum | €222.80 a month without sick pay, €230.71 with |
| Students | €87.38 a month plus the fund's additional contribution |
Source: Federal Ministry of Health and GKV-Spitzenverband, read 23 September 2026.
Statutory or private health insurance: which suits you?
Private insurance (PKV) prices cover by your age when you join, your health and the benefits you choose. You usually pay bills first and claim back, and insurers may refuse you or add surcharges – except in the Basistarif (basic tariff) every private insurer must offer, capped at €1,017.19 a month. Private members also need private compulsory long-term care insurance.
| Statutory (GKV) | Private (PKV) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price based on | Income | Entry age, health risk and chosen benefits |
| At the doctor | Show your electronic health card | Pay first, then claim back |
| Can they refuse you? | No fund may refuse a member | Yes, except in the basic tariff |
| Share of the population | Roughly 90 per cent | Slightly more than 10 per cent |
Source: Federal Ministry of Health and GKV-Spitzenverband, read 23 September 2026.
Think before you go private. From age 55 you cannot return to the statutory system if you were not statutorily insured in the last five years and spent at least half that time exempt or self-employed.
How do you choose a Krankenkasse and insure your family?
The choice is yours: the AOK where you live or work, any Ersatzkasse such as TK, BARMER or DAK, any company or guild fund (BKK, IKK) open to all, or the Knappschaft; students may also pick the AOK at their university's location. If you have not named a fund to your employer within two weeks of becoming insured, the employer registers you itself.
You stay with a fund for 12 months, but since 1 January 2021 you no longer have to cancel – the new fund informs the old one – and if your fund raises its additional contribution, you may leave early. Your eGK (electronic health card) has been the only valid proof of cover since 1 January 2015; it carries your photo unless you are under 15, and its back usually serves as your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).
Familienversicherung (family insurance) covers your spouse or registered partner and your children free of charge if they live in Germany and their own income stays below a low monthly limit – ask your fund for the current amount. Children are covered until 18, until 23 if not working, until 25 in school, training, university or voluntary service, and without age limit if disabled and unable to support themselves. One catch: they cannot be covered through you if your privately insured spouse earns more than you and more than one twelfth of the annual threshold a month.
How do you find a doctor in Germany – and when do you call 112 or 116117?
With statutory insurance you can see any GP or specialist in the system. The BMG recommends choosing a Hausarzt (family doctor); every fund offers a GP-centred tariff with a bonus or lower co-payments if you commit to one GP for a year. The 116117 patient service books appointments online, in its app or by phone.
| Situation | Where to turn | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Life-threatening emergency | 112 | Ambulance and rescue service |
| Urgent, not life-threatening, surgery closed | 116117 | Medical on-call service, 24/7, free with a German phone contract; not for dental emergencies |
| Prescription medicine | Pharmacy | Adults pay 10 per cent of the price, at least €5 and at most €10; nothing for under-18s |
| Off sick from work | Your doctor and employer | Wages normally continue for six weeks; then Krankengeld (sick pay) of 70 per cent of gross pay, at most 90 per cent of net, for up to 78 weeks within three years |
Source: 116117 patient service and Federal Ministry of Health, read 23 September 2026.
Co-payments are capped at 2 per cent of your gross income a year, or 1 per cent if you are chronically ill. For 2024 to 2026, each parent can claim Kinderkrankengeld (child sick pay) for 15 working days per child under 12, or 30 as a single parent. The EHIC covers medically necessary treatment on temporary stays in the EU and EEA, Switzerland and the UK; elsewhere statutory funds generally do not pay.
What to do now
| Step | What | When |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Take out travel health insurance for the gap until your job starts | Before you travel |
| 2 | Compare additional rates on the GKV-Spitzenverband list and pick a fund | Before your first working day |
| 3 | Tell your employer which fund you chose | Within two weeks of becoming insured |
| 4 | High earner in a first German job: decide on voluntary statutory membership | Within three months of starting work |
| 5 | Add your spouse and children to family insurance | When you join |
| 6 | Choose a Hausarzt; save 112 and 116117 in your phone | In your first weeks |
Source: Make it in Germany, Social Code Book V (SGB V) and Federal Ministry of Health, read 23 September 2026.
Official sources
The official pages this guide is based on, read 23 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.
- Versicherungsvertragsgesetz § 193 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- SGB V § 5 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Bundesministerium für Gesundheit – Versicherte in der GKV ( · bundesgesundheitsministerium.de
- Sozialversicherungsrechengrößen-Verordnung 2026 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Bundesministerium für Gesundheit – Wechsel zwischen GKV und PKV ( · bundesgesundheitsministerium.de
- SGB V § 9 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Bundesministerium für Gesundheit – Beiträge ( · bundesgesundheitsministerium.de
- GKV-Spitzenverband – Krankenkassenliste PDF (23.09.2026) · gkv-spitzenverband.de
- Bundesministerium für Gesundheit – Finanzierung der sozialen Pflegeversicherung · bundesgesundheitsministerium.de
- Bundesministerium für Gesundheit – Wahl und Wechsel der Krankenkasse · bundesgesundheitsministerium.de
- SGB V § 175 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- SGB V § 10 · gesetze-im-internet.de
- Bundesministerium für Gesundheit – Private Krankenversicherung ( · bundesgesundheitsministerium.de
- 116117 Patientenservice (Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung) · 116117.de
- Bundesministerium für Gesundheit – Ärztliche Behandlung · bundesgesundheitsministerium.de
- Bundesministerium für Gesundheit – Elektronische Gesundheitskarte · bundesgesundheitsministerium.de
- Bundesministerium für Gesundheit – Elektronische Patientenakte · bundesgesundheitsministerium.de
- Bundesministerium für Gesundheit – Zuzahlung und Erstattung Arzneimittel ( · bundesgesundheitsministerium.de
- Bundesministerium für Gesundheit – Krankengeld ( · bundesgesundheitsministerium.de
- Bundesministerium für Gesundheit – Krankenversicherung im Ausland ( · bundesgesundheitsministerium.de
- GKV-Spitzenverband, DVKA – Merkblatt 'Meine Pflegeversicherung bei Wohnort in Deutschland' ( · dvka.de
- Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Soziales – Sozialversicherungsrechengrößen-Verordnung 2027 (Referentenentwurf) · bmas.de
Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.