This one is a lynx. Miss a date, or do it in the wrong order, and it costs you real money. Easy once someone shows you how — and this is the kind Papertame was built for.

Health insurance explainer

Health insurance is compulsory in Germany, and your employer will ask for it in your first week. Two things are worth knowing before then. You choose the fund yourself, and nobody may choose it for you. A partner and children who earn little or nothing can usually be covered on your membership for no extra payment.

Why this page names no fund

Almost every English-language guide to German health insurance is published by somebody who sells it. No insurer pays us and none is linked or recommended here, which is why this page can say the quiet parts out loud. You choose your own fund. Family cover can cost nothing. And leaving the statutory system is hard to undo.

It's not optional

Every employee is insured, trainees included.The official wording Health insurance is not optional in Germany. Employees working for a wage — including trainees — are compulsorily insured in the statutory health insurance system by law. Source ↗

You choose your fund, and your employer cannot

Your employer needs the fund's confirmation, not the decision.The official wording You choose your own health insurance fund (Krankenkasse) — by law you are a member of the fund you select, not one your employer picks for you. Your employer needs the fund's confirmation of membership (Mitgliedsbescheinigung), not the right to decide. Source ↗

Your first job: the sequence

Tell your employer your fund within two weeks of starting.The official wording When you start a job, you declare your choice to the Krankenkasse you picked — it may not refuse you, and it may not talk you out of joining with false or incomplete advice. Tell your employer which fund you chose right away: if you haven't named one within two weeks of starting, the employer registers you with your previous fund — or, if you have never been insured in Germany, with a fund the employer picks and tells you about in text form. The fund then confirms your membership to the employer electronically; there is no paper for you to chase. Source ↗

1Pick a statutory fund and tell it you are joining. It may not refuse you, and it may not talk you out of it.
2Tell your employer which fund you chose, right away, and at the latest within two weeks of starting.
3Miss the two weeks and you are still insured. Your employer signs you up with the fund you were last with. If you have never been insured in Germany, they pick one for you and tell you which.
4The fund confirms your membership to your employer electronically, so there is nothing for you to print. The KV line then appears on your payslip.

What you pay (the KV line on your payslip)

About 14.6% of your gross pay, split with your employer.The official wording The statutory health-insurance contribution is 14.6% of gross pay plus a supplement set by your individual fund, and it is split roughly half-and-half between you and your employer — which is why KV appears on your payslip. Source ↗

See where it lands on your payslip →

What actually differs between funds

The main cover is the same everywhere. Extras differ.The official wording The core benefit catalogue of statutory insurance is set by law and applies whichever fund you join. On top of it, a fund may offer statute-based extras (Satzungsleistungen) only in areas the law lists — prevention and rehabilitation, midwife services, artificial insemination, dental treatment, non-prescription pharmacy medicines, therapies and aids, digital health apps, home nursing and household help. That legal margin, plus the fund-specific supplement, is where funds actually differ. Source ↗

The care itself is set by law, so it is the same wherever you go. These are the categories where funds genuinely differ, and they are worth a look before you declare your choice. This page names them and does not rank them.

Zusatzbeitrag: The fund's own supplement on top of the uniform base rate — the price difference between funds
Satzungsleistungen: Statute-based extras in the areas the law allows — prevention, dental, therapies, digital health apps and more
Wahltarife / Bonusprogramme: Optional tariffs and bonus schemes — read the conditions; binding periods can delay a later fund switch
Service & Sprache: English-language service, apps and digital claims, local offices — purely practical, and where newcomers notice the biggest differences

Family cover can cost nothing

Your partner and your children can be covered for free.The official wording Family members can be covered at no additional contribution (Familienversicherung): a spouse or registered partner and children living in Germany, provided they are not otherwise insured and their own income stays under the legal limit. Children are covered to 18, to 23 if not employed, and to 25 while in education or training. Source ↗

Statutory (GKV) or private (PKV)

Earn above the yearly limit and you may go private.The official wording Employees whose regular annual pay exceeds the annual earnings threshold (Jahresarbeitsentgeltgrenze — set each year by federal regulation) become exempt from compulsory statutory insurance, and may take private insurance (PKV) instead. Below the threshold, the statutory system is compulsory. Source ↗

Going private is hard to undo

After 55, the way back can close for good.The official wording Moving to private insurance is hard to reverse: the law keeps people exempt from statutory insurance if they become subject to it after turning 55 and were not statutorily insured in the previous five years. This is a legal fact worth knowing before you choose — and a reason to take independent advice, not a sales pitch. Source ↗

Health-insurance terms, translated

The words you will meet on forms and at work, and what each one means. It does not tell you which to pick.

Krankenkasse: Your statutory health insurance fund
GKV (gesetzliche Krankenversicherung): The statutory health insurance system
PKV (private Krankenversicherung): Private health insurance
Versicherungspflicht: Compulsory insurance — you must be insured
Mitgliedsbescheinigung: Your fund's confirmation of membership — what your employer asks for
Zusatzbeitrag: The supplement your individual fund charges on top of 14.6%
Familienversicherung: Family cover at no additional contribution
Jahresarbeitsentgeltgrenze: The annual earnings threshold above which you may leave the statutory system
Beitragsbemessungsgrenze: The income ceiling above which no further contributions are charged
Gesundheitskarte (eGK): Your health insurance card — you show it at the doctor
Zuzahlung: A co-payment you make yourself (e.g. on prescriptions)
Satzungsleistungen: Extra benefits a fund writes into its own statutes on top of the legal catalogue
Wahltarif: An optional tariff with its own conditions and a binding period

Where this page stops

Which system, which fund, and whether family cover fits your household are big decisions, and they turn on facts about you that this page does not have. Nothing here is sold and no fund is recommended. For a genuinely independent view, the Verbraucherzentrale advises on health insurance, and so does a fee-based insurance adviser.

Related steps in the first-year paperwork:

Payslip explainer Anmeldung starter pack

An automated assistant that organizes your information and applies publicly documented rules. Sources for each rule are cited.

This is not legal, tax, immigration, or financial advice, and not an official recognition, filing, or application. For decisions with legal or financial consequences, consult a qualified professional.

Rules last verified: 2026-07-14.

Sources

LynxKrankenversicherung

Included with the PassField guide

Being insured for medical care, which is required by law here. You pick the fund yourself, it cannot turn you away, and your husband, wife or children may be covered on your membership at no extra cost.

One piece of paperwork, recorded: what it is, where you deal with it, and what catches people out. Every answer comes from an official source, with the date we checked it. What each guide covers is listed on it — they are not all the same length.

What it answers

When and how it turns up
Where you deal with it
What to bring
What it costs
What it opens up next
What catches people out

6 sourced answers sit behind this lock.

The Pass opens the field guide for the animals that carry the most dread — 13 field guides today, and more as each one clears our sourcing bar. Every line is answered from dated sources, never from memory.

The tools and guides on this page stay free and complete without it. This is depth, never the thing you need to get the job done.

See the Germany Pass →