How can I get private health insurance again?
Persons who are assigned to private health insurance must
- the full premium for the first six months without insurance,
- then pay a sixth of it each time.
However, latecomers can agree on payment in installments with their private insurance company.
The private health insurance companies must provide people who have not previously had health insurance cover and cannot insure themselves legally at least offer the so-called basic tariff. The basic tariff corresponds to the scope of services of the statutory health insurance and may only be as expensive as the maximum contribution there. In 2021 that is 769 euros. In addition, there is the contribution to long-term care insurance. Risk exclusions and surcharges due to previous illnesses are not permitted in the basic tariff.
If insured by the contribution amount in need of help in the social law sense the contributions can be halved. If that is also demonstrably too expensive for an insured person, he can a subsidy from the responsible basic security or social insurance institution to get. The payment must be applied for and approved by the competent institution.
So that privately insured people with temporary contribution debts do not lose their insurance cover completely with their private insurer, another social tariff was introduced in 2013, the so-called “emergency rate“, set up. This tariff is intended for temporary exceptional financial situations. The emergency tariff can therefore not be actively selected. Rather, the insurer makes the reclassification to the “emergency tariff” if there is a contribution arrears and two reminders have been issued.
The existing insurance contract is then suspended until the premium debts, together with late payment penalties and dunning costs, have been settled. As soon as the debts have been settled, you will be downgraded to the old tariff.
In the emergency tariff, the insurer only pays benefits for adults in the event of acute illness and pain as well as pregnancy and maternity. In the case of children, expenses for check-ups to detect diseases and vaccinations recommended by the permanent vaccination committee are also covered.
The emergency tariff is only a solution for exceptional cases. If you need help in terms of social law, the basic and standard tariff are more in demand. You can read more about the regulations on the basic and emergency tariffs in our separate article on the subject.
Special case: A return from abroad without insurance
Anyone returning to Germany from abroad must also take out statutory or private health insurance again.
who previously legally insured was returns to statutory health insurance. Those who were previously voluntarily insured are also reinstated if they were also legally insured abroad.
who formerly privately insured in Germany had to look for private health insurance again. The returnee from abroad has the right to be reinstated by his previous private health insurance. You must offer at least one insurance in the basic rate.
In the case of people who have never had health insurance in Germany, the assignment is based on the last job abroad. Employees should be assigned to statutory health insurance, regardless of the amount of wages or salaries they earn abroad, in order to avoid time-consuming administrative procedures. Self-employed / freelancers, on the other hand, who were not yet legally insured, must insure themselves privately.
High hurdles for return: our demands
It is therefore possible to return to insurance cover, but for many of those affected the hurdles are still too high. As a rule, you cannot pay the accumulated contribution debts in one fell swoop – and there is no basic entitlement to payment in installments. In the best-case scenario, some health insurance companies will agree to this for a period of six months. A right to installment payments would be particularly helpful. With an effective installment payment agreement, full insurance cover is automatically restored if (and this is important!) the agreed installments are reliably paid.
We therefore demand: Health insurance companies and health insurance companies must be obliged to agree on installment payments with non-insured people that match their financial possibilities. In addition, the late payment penalty should be reduced to an appropriate level.
