On postdoc stipend: need good health insurance - Germany

Hello,

I am a 37-year old single postdoc.

This last year, I had a work contract with the Max Planck that paid me (postdoc on the TVL-13 scale) and deducted health insurance (at about 15 %) automatically: I enrolled with TKK (I assume this is public health insurance).

From 2010 January 1, I will move to a new contract with the Deutsch Primatenzentrum, and here I will be on a scholarship (stipendium). My boss is willing to adjust the scholarship amount so that it matches my netto salary from my existing contract + the amount for the health insurance coverage that I will have to get by myself.

So I would like to find a health insurance plan with at least the same coverage as the public health insurance I had this year through TKK, since I am old enough to have lost my youthful sense of invincibility. Of course, as long as the coverage is similar, I would like to shop around for the cheapest one.

I will be very grateful for any advice on how I should go about this. Should I just call TKK (or another company) and find out what they will charge me?

Best regards!!

You can opt out of public insurance if you meet the criteria, but you're not forced to. If you're happy with your current plan, you can just keep it. If you qualify, switching to private may be cheaper (depending on what you make and how the private insurers judge your medical risks), but you should weigh the pros and cons of that decision if you plan to stay in Germany, because going back to public insurance can be very difficult.

Thanks bal00. My scholarship amount is well below the threshold (of somewhat above 4000 euros per month, if I am right). But my employer will not contribute anything to my health insurance, since it is a stipend/scholarship.

So do I even have the option of opting out of public health insurance?

I will contact TKK on Monday and ask them what they will charge me under my new circumstances if I stay on the current plan. Perhaps I can also ask them about whether I can opt out or not.

Also, I have been told that I do not have to pay any tax on my scholarship amount. Can anyone confirm this?

Hi madzientist,

I can confirm that the Stipendia are tax free - I was on one for a while, and it's a really sweet deal.

My institution was able to recommend private insurances at a very reduced rate, specifically for international postdocs or students on a stipendium, such as this one, from mawista. It's very cheap at about 45 Euro/month for the first year, and then something like 75 Euro/month after that. You can cancel at the end of any month as well, you don't have to have a long term contract. I know this, because I got it for my first month here until I realized I could get on my husbands public insurance (TKK). This was possible since the stipendium is not 'official' income and I basically had houswife status. Mawista cancelled with no problem, and I also had no problems getting on the public system and staying on it now that I have an official salary (I have to pay for the privelege now though, of course).

You can probably ask your institute to make similar recommendations. I think there are several choices. But I can't comment on the quality of the coverage.

It may well be worth asking TKK if you can stay on - I have no idea what they would charge. I've heard several times, as stated above, that you can't normally switch from private to public very easily. I did in this case - maybe it was just a very special set of circumstances or maybe TK just didn't read my application form propery on which I clearly stated my insurance from mawista. It was in 2006, maybe there have also been rule changes since then.

Best of luck!

The Helmholtz research institutes throughout Germany recommend http://www.ishcp.de/englisch/1_ueberuns.html for all foreign scientists on scholarships or stipends. I dont use them myself but everyone I work with seems happy with them

I don't think any of the cheap plans mentioned above, though certainly well intended, meet this criteria of the OP

because these are more like beefed up travel health insurances AFAIK.

The TKK will charge you based on your income. That means you would have to pay the same like now (but double because you have to bear the employer share now, too) or even more. Not sure if that is such a good scenario moneywise - but you also have to think about the longterm effects of your decision.

I have just checked with my search&compare sopftware based on your info of being male and 37 years and not knowing about any existing medical conditions: you can have a fully comprehensive German private health insurance with a still reasonable deductible/excess option (like 900-1200 EUr/year) for as little as 150-175 EUR total per month. And in contrast to your TKK insurance, these insurances cover you worldwide also on long trips for research or holiday.

Maybe that is worthwhile contemplating? Anyway: get the help of an independent broker/advisor who can discuss with you the pros and cons of going public or private and work out the best solution for you.

Cheerio

PS: would that be the Primatenzentrum in Leipzig you are going to? Cool place, especially the Bonobos...

Thank you, everybody, for your very useful input.

The TKK told me today that since I had been on public health insurance for less than a year, I would not even be eligible for "voluntary membership" of public health insurance. In any case, the going rate is around 40 % of my scholarship, so that is quite steep. They also confimed that I would not have any problem coming back to public health insurance in case I would become "employed" again at a future date (that is, have a regular contract and salary rather than a scholarship).

Thank you, Starshollow for your advice. I looked up the ISHCP website that emacintyre recommended, and while there is a 4 year limit, the terms do not seem so bad (I hope I dont need organ transplantation soon): http://www.ishcp.de/englisch/3_avb1.html . The cost is low, at 47 euros per month, this is what makes me wonder what I am missing in the fine print. I am wondering what the 150 to 175 euro per month comprehensive insurance gives me, that ISHCP doesn't.

I will try to find a independent advisor who can help me as well.

Cheers, Suresh (at the Primatenzentrum in Goettingen; no bonobos here as far as I know.. but I hear stories about humans who act like bonobos