Health insurance and the E111 for extended stays

Hi All,

Last year I took a year-long career break from my work in scotland to come to germany and live with my girlfriend. Now the year is up and i've decided to make it 2 instead. Anyway, up until now i've been covered by a year-long holiday insurance and my E111 (which i just realised is no longer valid...)

I've got a part-time job here where i work as a freelancer (which the company insisted upon, and which i'm sure is just a tax dodge on their behalf). Anyway, i'm totally confused over the whole health insurance thing here. I was under the impression that it's mandatory for me to be covered. I've read some other threads here and there are some silly prices being talked about. This morning i went to AOK, took my g/f as an interpreter, and the woman there says i don't need any additional health insurance, and that having the new E111 card is enough. I'm not so sure. Any health insurance experts here who could let me know what i should be doing? Also, although i'm working freelance, i'm barely making enough to pay my rent, so if what the woman said was right, i'd be happy...

Cheers!

Try and get health insurance by extending your holiday insurance, tis what I did...works out a snotload cheaper than the bollocks over here

For more info on being covered by the E111, see here : http://www.toytowngermany.com/search/?q=e111

I'm not a health professional.

You can swing it in an emergency but your E111 is NOT legally valid.
E111 covers short trips, you've been here 1 year and are working.

The company you are working for IS ripping you off by having you freelance as you lose the benefits of being an employee. Freelancers SHOULD get paid shed loads to make up for this but I doubt it is the case in your instance.

Specificly, if you were employed you would pay a % of your gross salary into the social insurance system and your employer would match it. As a freelancer, YOU have to pay it all.

You could look around for health insurance cover (101 different people offer it) but whether you would find it easy to pay if you only work part time is another story.

You could try and swing it on the E111, they are only valid for a year anyway so you need to apply for a new one. But remember, it's NOT legal and its really only good for emergecies.

MonksTown is totally correct about the E111 abuse, but the cost of insurance should not be too high... As a young single person (you are?) a private health insurance should not be too expensive and will be remarkably comprehensive covering most of your body bits including teeth and sight - reckon on 200-300 Euros a month - less if you don't make any claims as you may get refunds...

YL6

Holy shit...I did read you right? Nah couldn't have I thought for a second there you said not too expensive.
I get a year through my insurer for that monthly rate.

Yeah, but what do you get for that? Any restrictions, excesses, limitations? Emergency cover, general cover?, checkups? eyes?, teeth, ears??

Bear in mind that a general insurance for someone earning average salary here is around 600-650 Euros a month (but in most cases the 50% is paid by the employer). This covers a family too...

200-300 a year for proper health insurance??? Who are you insured with then? The average for private is about that amount per month...and public ranges from about 12.5 - 14.5% of your paycheque.

The only limitation is that it doesn't cover check-ups.

in most cases 50% is covered by your employer...not for me tho

I'm insured thru a company in Aotearoa. Unfortunately this has to change due to my employment here, and have to get Germish health cover...but those prices aren't 12.5-14.5 of my pay check...more like 100%!

My girlfriend and I are insured through DKV (I work as a Selbstständiger). I pay like €140 for me and €240 for her per month. It is their premium package though and we are covered for everything.

@Timmeh: I'd check your actual coverage out. I did boat loads of research on this and interviewed several different companies. I didn't go for the cheapest necessarily, but the best coverage for the money. Anyway, nowhere did I see yearly rates that low.

This is because I'm not covered through a German insurer. I'm covered by a company in Aotearoa, I am fully covered, no probs there. This will change with the change in my employment status & visa type soon and I have to get insured through the ludicrously expensive German insurers.

Not too expensive!! That's funny! Oh no, wait, this applies to me. Not funny. Lots of money.



I'm a freelancer and try to keep below the tax threshold. But if I have to pay for health insurance then I have to earn more money, which means I also have to pay tax, which means I either have to do ridiculous amounts of work or charge silly prices which will scare most people away. I'm currently surviving on an E111, but I know that's not really legit.

The E111 has been replaced by the European Health Card. I got mine at the beginning of the year and it is valid till the end of 2006.
The old E111s were just valid for one particular EU country, which was written on the form. The new card is valid for all 25 member states (except the one where you applied for it).
Best thing to do would be to get a friend or relation back home to apply for it on your behalf, and get them to send it out here.

If you ever do need medical cover, just tell the AOK you are on holiday here. Or else say you are a private language student. If you are an official student or are working here, the european health card is no longer accepted.

For anyone paying German health insurance, ask your Krankenkasse to issue you with an Europaeische Krankenversicherungskarte. May even get you better treatment if you have a medical problem on a visit back home ;-)

!!!

If you put in on the AOK website that your trip is to the UK, they WON'T issue a new "E111" European card as there are SUPPOSEDLY reciprocal arrangements that cover CITIZENS anyway. Do yourself a favour and put your holiday destination in the Czech Republic until about 6 months from now to cover your bases.