Earning below limit for private health insurance

Hi there,

I've just started work in Germany and have discovered I am just under the income threshold that lets me get into a private health insurer through my employer. I feel pretty unhappy about being a public patient, so can anybody help me with the following:

a) Can I just go and enrol myself in a fund? I have income coming in every month from Australia that easily takes my income into the private health threshold - can I get that counted?

or

b) is there any point in a healthy, non-pregnant person in their 30s having private health insurance? I assume if I was in a catastrophic car accident the public system would take care of me (or is that an unwarranted assumption?)

and

c) if I only need to go and see a doctor occasionally, would I be better off just forking over the money for it at the time? Any idea what a consultation usually costs? I live in a rural area, BTW.

Thanks very much for advice and suggestions,

Milton

Tip 1: Pay Starshollow for a consultation. It'll save you money in the long run.
Tip 2: Bring Starshollow a flask of her/his beverage of choice to compensate shock at myriad unwarranted presumptions.

The public system here is not like the public system in Australia, it is easily 10 times better. That said, it costs 10 times more, so the only reason you would want to swap over is to save money, not for the quality of service. Private can cost a lot less than public, but as a women in her 30's, maybe not.

If you have a job here insurance is not optional, you must have one, so your c) option is not an option at all.

MollyB: Tip1 - tks ; Tip 2: its a he, beverage of choice would be either a Rosso Connero (red wine) from my favourite area in Italy, the Marche, or a good single malt (Lagavulin would do just fine)

Milton: sorry buddy, if you receive a salary even just below the threshold you are f..., I mean stuck for good with public health insurance. Even if your boss would raise your salary right away over the threshold, you would continue to be stuck for three more years after the end of this year following the new law since April this year. Hate to be the bearer of bad news but that just the way it is. this makes it a bit futile to answer you other questions but anyway, here are a couple of answers:
a) does it make sense for a healthy 30y-old single male to get private health insurance: that would depend on several factors, like how long you want to stay in Germany, if you want to get married here with children or stay single for the time and so on. Basically you pay with a salary close to the threshold simply more money each month for a worse coverage then with private health insurance. Btw: which public insurance are you with now? If you had a major accident or illness, however, you can rely on getting above-average treatment compared to many other countries on public insurance from what I hear from other ExPats if they compare German public health system with NHS or the likes. So being stuck with public health insurance is not such a bad thing looking at the coverage and treatment side for the next couple of years, just costs more money.
b ) your questions c) suggests, if I am not mistaken, the idea of totally dropping out from health insurance and pay as you go in a manner of speaking, right. No such luck, with your salary comes the compulsory public health insurance, you can not opt out in any way.

Cheerio

Hi guys,

Thanks for the great advice. I didn't mean, by the way, that I intended to drop out of health insurance, I meant would I be better off taking the public insurance and just paying extra when I wanted to go see a doctor for those boring consultations that come up every so often. My understanding is that some doctors won't give you appointments if they find out you're a public patient. I'd rather than just pay on the day than wait weeks.

Can I just clarify - are you suggesting that it is MORE expensive to pay for public insurance? And that I can't just go and buy a policy as a private individual? e.g. that it has to be done through my employer solely on the basis of the salary they pay me?

That completely sucks if so.

Ah well, I guess I just have to stay healthy...

Milton

Hi Starshollow!

I have an impending divorce and will need to have my own health insurance.

Do you do your service for Americans living in Austria too?

I have a permanent VISA here.

Thanks for your input,

Tom

Milton: yep, you can not choose to opt out from public health insurance if you are earning a gross salary under the threshold. and now that you have been signed up with a public health insurance you even have to wait for 18 month before you can change to another public health insurance (because there can be severe differences in premium price as well, I usually recommend IKK Direkt because the charge only 12% based on salary, you'll have to check about yours yourself). And yes: it is more expensive to pay for public insurance if you have a high salary because you are supporting those with low or no salary with your higher contribution.
Tomasion: tks for the inquiry but no, can't do Austria with German health insurance because a) don't know the legal system and German insurances only accept German residence. But if you are a freelancer/selfemployed I can help you with a good international health insurance which is also available for Austria. If that would be of interest, click on the link below and provide your email and phone for contact. Also pls provide DoB. tks

Cheerio

You have the completely wrong view of the German public health care system. You will not have to wait to see a GP, or even a dentist for that matter. You might have to wait to see a specialist, but that is about it. The public system is like the private system that you are used to.


If you're earning just under the threshold, it is likely that public will be more expensive. You will be paying at least 6% of your salary for health insurance, so if you earned 45k, that means you'll be paying 225 euros per month for public insurance. If you want private insurance, you are able to purchase top up insurance I believe (Starshollow will probably be able to sort you out there), but you'll still have to pay public.

So there is definitely no need to stay healthy, you may as well get sick and use the excellent system you're paying through the nose for

As explained, you can't opt out of the comprehensive public insurance scheme so you are covered anyway.
There are situations where people don't have health insurance in Germany.
In the case of a serious car accident for example, no one is gong to leave you to die at the side of the road.
But they will very likely come back for the money later.

And there are plenty of good GPs who take public insurance patients here. Specialists are a different story, but cross that bridge when you come to it.

You could have private insurance if you can manage to be employed as a Freelancer. But it might be a problem long term if your income comes from only one source. It will definitely be cheaper for your employer and depending on how long you want to stay in Germany, it could be a good solution.

But that will make it far more difficult to get the Work Visa.