Private and statutory health insurance

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Private and statutory health insurance for students in Germany

Surely you have already heard from your German university, from the German embassy or from the foreigners authority that you need health insurance for your studies in Germany and that you have the choice between statutory and private health insurance. What your German fellow students know from birth is probably completely new to you. Therefore we would like to explain the difference between statutory and private health insurance for students.

The Statutory Health Insurance

The statutory health insurance belongs to the German social insurance system together with pension, unemployment and long-term care insurance. The insurance is obligatory for all persons in Germany.

However, there are also groups of persons who do not necessarily have to be insured under the statutory health insurance system, for example registered students. The contributions that you have to pay and the benefits that you receive for them are regulated by law and are the same for everyone. With a few exceptions, statutory health insurance must cover everyone - no matter how ill or old they are.

Private Health Insurance

Not everyone can take out private health insurance. The following groups of persons may take out private health insurance, for example: Employees who earn more than EUR 60,750 per year, self-employed, civil servants, registered students. Contributions and benefits are not required by law. You can choose a health insurance cover that suits your needs. In most cases, you will have to answer a few questions about your health before taking out private health insurance. It can happen that an insurance company cannot offer you health insurance cover.

Statutory and private health insurance: differences

In this table we have compiled some of the differences between statutory and private health insurance. You can also download them as a PDF document.

	Statutory health insurance	Private health insurance
Contributions	Statutory health insuranceFixed by law, depending on income	Private health insuranceNot fixed by law, usually increase with age
Admission	Statutory health insuranceMust admit (almost) everyone, no health check	Private health insurance Must not admit everyone, usually health check
Insurable persons	Statutory health insurance(almost) all	Private health insurance employees with an income above € 60,750 per year, self-employed, civil servants, students
Billing	Statutory health insuranceDirectly with physician	Private health insurance Patient receives invoice, which he submits to insurer for reimbursement
Choice of physician	Statutory health insurancenly physicians with health insurance approval	Private health insurance Free choice of physician
Co-payments	Statutory health insurancefor medicines, aids and in hospital	Private health insurance None
Selbstbehalt	Statutory health insuranceNo	Private health insurance Possible

Foreign students in Germany: Private or statutory insurance?

If you want to insure yourself legally or privately for your studies in Germany, you can decide for yourself. In most cases, private health insurance for students is much cheaper than statutory health insurance. You are also a private patient in private health insurance. This means that you may go to all doctors, probably have to wait less long for an appointment and sit in the waiting room.

In the statutory health insurance scheme, you get statutory standard benefits paid in full. Private health insurance, on the other hand, has maximum limits. Within these limits you can also make use of more expensive private treatments. There is often a deductible in private health insurance. This means that you bear all costs up to a certain amount. Only then will your private health insurance cover the costs.

our solution: Care Student and DAK

we can offer you statutory health insurance with the DAK as well as the private student insurance „Care Student“ especially for foreign students. We have compared both products for you:

	Care Student (private)	DAK (statutory)
Student contribution up to 30	Care Student (private) € 89.48 / month	DAK (statutory) € 119.94/ month
Student contribution from 30	Care Student (private) € 115.54 / month	DAK (statutory) € 203,48 / month
Doctor treatment	Care Student (private)Free choice of doctor	DAK (statutory) Doctors with health insurance approval
Hospital treatment	Care Student (private)General nursing class, multi-bed room, without optional services	DAK (statutory) General nursing class, multi-bed room, without optional services, € 10 extra payment / day (max. 28 days)
Dental treatment	Care Student (private)Up to € 500, thereafter 50% per calendar year	DAK (statutory) Standard statutory care
Medication	Care Student (private)Yes	DAK (statutory) Additional payment 10% (min. 5, max. € 10)
Hospital daily allowance	Care Student (private) € 25 /day, max. 20 days	DAK (statutory) No
Recovery allowance	Care Student (private) € 1,500 (for 90 days in hospital and incapacity for work)	DAK (statutory) No
Applicability in Europe	Care Student (private)Yes	DAK (statutory) Yes
Valid worldwide	Care Student (private)First four weeks	DAK (statutory) No
Deductible	Care Student (private) € 300 / calendar year	DAK (statutory) No
Waiting periods	Care Student (private)Waiting periods 3 months, 8 months for dentures, orthodontics, Psychotherapy, childbirth, 6 months for dental treatment (previous insurance partially recognised)	DAK (statutory) No

We are happy to help you

We hope we were able to shed some light on the German health insurance system with this information. We would also be happy to help you personally via Phone or E-Mail and provide you with comprehensive advice on private and statutory health insurance for foreign students in Germany.

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