Private health insurance for employees. Earn over €77,400? Your employer pays half.

A couple on the sofa with coffee, going through papers on a laptop

Above the income threshold, you pay €250 to €475 a month instead of €648 in public health insurance (2026). In a free 30-minute call, we work out when you can switch and what you would pay. You decide afterwards, in your own time.

In short

How does private health insurance work for employees in Germany?

  1. Who qualifies

    Employees whose salary is above the income threshold can choose private health insurance. The threshold is €77,400 a year in 2026 and €84,150 in 2027.

  2. From when

    • New job: from your first working day.
    • Salary increase: from 1 January of the following year, if your salary is also above the next year’s threshold.
    • Already above the threshold: you are a voluntary member of public health insurance and can leave by giving notice. Your membership then ends at the end of the second month after the month in which you give notice.
  3. Your monthly share

    After your employer’s share, you pay €250 to €475 a month (2026). The premium depends on your age when you join and on your health, not on your salary.

  4. What your employer pays

    Your employer pays half your premium. It also pays half of the premiums for your children and for a spouse with little or no income, up to the legal maximum.

Why go private

Better care, often for less

  • A doctor at work in a bright specialist practice

    See a specialist sooner

    In our August 2026 study, private patients typically got a specialist appointment in 7 days. Public patients waited 21 days.

  • A patient reading the paper in a bright single hospital room

    Single room, your doctor

    In hospital you get a single room and the senior consultant. Private-only practices are open to you.

  • A dentist and an assistant treating a relaxed patient

    Dental work covered

    Crowns, implants, inlays: your contract covers 80–⁠90%. Public cover pays €239 a crown.

  • Healthy years pay back

    Claim-free years earn up to six monthly premiums back.

Reviews

What clients write

Portrait of Jonas Marx, founder of TheGoodBroker

Jonas Marx

Licensed insurance broker · register no. D-ON7P-Y7Q94-16

Advising since
2018
English-speaking clients
900+

Your switch date

Can employees get private health insurance in Germany?

Employees can choose private health insurance once their salary is above the income threshold of €77,400 a year in 2026 and €84,150 in 2027. With a new job above the threshold, private cover can start on your first working day. After a salary increase, you switch on 1 January of the next year, provided your salary also clears that year’s threshold. If you are already above the threshold and a voluntary member of public health insurance, your membership ends at the end of the second month after you give notice.

One question

Which situation applies to you?

Your monthly premium

How much does private health insurance cost employees?

Above the income threshold, private health insurance costs an employee €250 to €475 a month in 2026 after the employer’s share, with long-term care included. The premium depends on your age when you join, your health and the cover you choose, not on your salary. In public health insurance, every employee above the threshold pays the maximum contribution: €648 a month without children and €613 with one child in 2026. This maximum rises again in 2027. Our comparison on a six-figure salary shows singles, couples and families side by side.

Your numbers

Answer a few questions to see what you would pay each month, compared with public health insurance.

Your level of cover

The table below shows what each level covers.

Who is insured

We use it to check whether you are above the income threshold. Your salary never changes a private premium.

Your premium depends on your age when your private cover starts.

Choose a level to compare

Medium: Entry plus hospital comfort, around €295 a month. Public: €648 a month

Already private? We check for free whether your plan still fits you: book a call.

Employer’s share

How much does your employer pay towards private health insurance?

Your employer pays half your premium, up to €508.59 for health insurance and €104.63 for long-term care a month in 2026. Your employer also pays half of the premiums for your children and for a spouse with little or no income, up to the legal maximum. The share is paid out with your salary, you pay no tax on it, and your employer has no influence on which insurer you choose. Since 2026, your insurer reports your premium electronically, so you hand in no paperwork.

What HR needs from you

  1. The date your private health insurance starts.

  2. Your private insurer’s confirmation that you are insured.

  3. Proof of your premium is not needed, because your insurer reports it electronically and payroll retrieves it.

Acceptance first

In what order do you switch to private health insurance?

Get accepted by a private insurer first and give notice second, so that you leave public health insurance on the date you planned. Start a few weeks ahead, because insurers need time to assess your application.

  1. 1

    A free call with Jonas

    In 30 minutes on Zoom, we work out when you can switch and what you would pay, and we prepare the anonymous pre-check.

  2. 2

    Pre-check and acceptance

    Insurers assess your health information without seeing your name. You choose an insurer, apply, and receive your cover and start date in writing.

  3. 3

    Leaving public health insurance

    After a new job or a salary increase, you declare your exit within two weeks of your public insurer’s letter; as a voluntary member, you give notice. Your public insurance continues until your private insurer’s confirmation arrives, so you are never without cover.

  4. 4

    Payroll takes over

    Your insurer reports your premium electronically, and your employer pays its share from your first private month.

Cost of advice

Who pays your health insurance broker?

Our advice costs you nothing. The insurer you choose pays us a commission, which every private premium already includes, so your premium is the same with or without a broker. By law, we act for you, whichever insurer pays it. The commission covers the call, the comparison, the application and our help in the years after. A switch to another tariff with your insurer costs you nothing either. If public cover suits you better, we say so.

Three ways to buy private cover
Three ways to buy private cover
Whose sideBroker:Yours, by lawInsurer's agent:The insurer'sDirect:The insurer's
Tariffs comparedBroker:The whole marketInsurer's agent:One insurer, sometimes a fewDirect:One insurer
Health check before you applyBroker:Anonymous, across insurersInsurer's agent:With one insurerDirect:With one insurer
In EnglishBroker:AlwaysInsurer's agent:Depends on the agentDirect:Depends on the insurer
Cost to youBroker:Nothing, the insurer pays usInsurer's agent:Nothing, the insurer pays themDirect:Same premium, no adviser of your own
Who answers after signingBroker:Your broker, for yearsInsurer's agent:Your agent, for that insurerDirect:A hotline

When life changes

What happens to private health insurance when your life changes?

  1. What happens to your income when you’re off sick for a long time?

    If you are off sick for a long time, public health insurance pays sick pay of 70% of your gross salary, but no more than €135.63 a day before deductions in 2026. It starts once your employer has paid your salary for the first six weeks. For anyone earning above the income threshold, this is well below their usual net salary. In private health insurance, you insure a fixed daily sickness allowance (Krankentagegeld) instead, which you set to match your net salary. We help you find the right amount.

    Daily sickness allowance explained

  2. How does private health insurance work when you have children?

    In private health insurance, each family member is insured individually and pays their own premium. A child costs €200 to €250 a month in a very good tariff, and your employer pays half, up to the legal maximum. A baby born while you are privately insured joins without health questions. Let us know as early as possible in the pregnancy, and we take care of the paperwork. Children can also be insured free through a publicly insured partner, unless you are married or registered partners and earn more than them.

    Worked examples for families

  3. What happens to private health insurance during maternity leave?

    Your private health insurance continues during maternity leave. Maternity protection usually starts six weeks before the birth and ends eight weeks after it. During this time, you receive a one-off maternity payment of up to €210 from the Federal Office for Social Security, and your employer tops up your income towards your previous net salary. Your daily sickness allowance also pays in these weeks, and we set it up so that it covers the remaining gap. We handle the applications with you.

    Maternity pay with private cover

  4. What happens to private health insurance during parental leave?

    Your private health insurance continues during parental leave, and your children stay insured with you. Without a salary, your employer’s share pauses, and you pay the premium yourself. If you plan a family, we can choose a tariff that waives your premium for six months while you receive parental allowance. If you work part-time during parental leave, you can keep your private health insurance, and your employer pays its share again. Let us know early, and we help you set it up.

    Parental leave in private cover

  5. What happens to private health insurance when you change jobs?

    As long as your salary stays above the income threshold, your private contract continues when you change employer. You keep your insurer, your tariff and your benefits, and nobody asks new health questions. Your new employer pays its share from your first month; payroll only needs your start date and your insurer’s details. A new job is also a good moment to check whether your tariff still fits your life, and we do that with you at no cost.

    The income threshold explained

  6. What happens to private health insurance if you lose your job?

    When you receive unemployment benefit, you are insured in public health insurance by law, and the employment agency pays the contribution. In the meantime, your private policy can rest as dormant cover (Anwartschaft) for a fraction of the premium. Dormant cover secures your health status, so you can resume your private insurance without new health questions once you have a job above the income threshold again. If you had no public health insurance in the five years before, you can instead apply to stay private.

    Returning to public cover

  7. What happens to private health insurance when you leave Germany?

    Your full private cover ends on the day you deregister from Germany. While you live abroad, your contract can rest as dormant cover (Anwartschaft) for a fraction of the premium. Dormant cover secures your health status, and the larger version also keeps your age at entry and lets your savings for old age keep growing, so you can return to private health insurance without new health questions. We set this up with you before you leave and tell you which version fits your plans.

    Moving abroad and back

  8. What happens to private health insurance when you retire?

    Your private health insurance continues for life, and part of every premium you pay while working is saved for your later years. From the year after you turn 60, the statutory 10% surcharge stops, and the German pension insurance pays a share of your health insurance premium. A premium relief tariff (Beitragsentlastungstarif) lets you pay a little more now so that your premium in retirement is lower. If you retire in Germany, we plan with you how to keep your private health insurance as affordable as possible in old age.

    Private premiums in retirement

If plans change

Can employees return to public health insurance?

Yes. Before you turn 55, you return to public health insurance by law if your salary falls below the income threshold or if you receive unemployment benefit. During that time, you can keep your private policy as dormant cover (Anwartschaft) for a fraction of the premium, so that you can resume it later without new health questions. From 55, a return is usually no longer possible. Private health insurance prepares for this by saving part of every premium for your later years. Plan for every stage with us

Independent

Which private health insurer is best?

There is no single best insurer. Yours has to pass four checks.

  1. 1

    Accepts your health history

    The anonymous pre-check shows which insurers do.

  2. 2

    Covers what you want

    Hospital, dental, specialists, cover abroad.

  3. 3

    Fits your budget

    We set the deductible with you.

  4. 4

    Stays a good partner

    We track its premium history and review its finances every year.

How we compare insurers

FAQ

Before you switch

Still have questions? We’re happy to help. No strings attached.

Ask us anything
Must my employer agree to my switch?
No. Once your salary is above the income threshold, the choice between public and private health insurance is yours alone. Your employer must pay its share of your private premium from your first private month.
Does my employer see my health details?
No. You answer the health questions for your insurer only, and they stay with the insurer. Your employer’s payroll receives the amount of your premium and nothing about your health.
What if I have a health condition?
Tell us about it in the call. Before you apply anywhere, we run an anonymous pre-check with several insurers, so you see which of them would accept you and on what terms. Your name is not shared during this check.
What should I have ready for the call?
Please have your gross annual salary ready, along with the start date of your new job or salary increase and the ages of everyone you want to insure. It also helps to think through your medical history and your family’s, including treatments that are easy to overlook, such as a child’s ongoing orthodontic treatment. If a deadline matters, for example for a visa application, tell us at the start of the call. You do not need to sign anything.
Does a Blue Card or a probation period change anything?
No. Blue Card holders can choose private health insurance on the same terms as everyone else, as long as their regular salary is above the income threshold of €77,400 (2026). The Blue Card’s own minimum salary is lower, and a performance bonus usually does not count. A probation period makes no difference.
Can I apply and sign in English?
Yes. We advise you in English and take you through every form. Where an insurer provides English documents, the German version is still the binding one, and where a document is only in German, we explain it before you sign.
Can I deduct my premium from my taxes?
Yes, the part of your premium that pays for basic cover is tax-deductible, after your employer’s tax-free share. Your insurer reports the amount to the tax authorities each year, and your tax adviser takes care of the rest.
Do I have to decide during the call?
No. You leave the call knowing when you can switch and what you would pay, and you decide in your own time. Nothing starts until you apply.

Plan your switch

Jonas MarxFounder, licensed insurance broker

A 30-minute call on Zoom, in English and free of charge. If public health insurance suits you better, we tell you so. You leave the call knowing when you can switch and what you would pay, compared with public health insurance.

  • When you can switch
  • Your premium compared with public health insurance
  • What your employer pays
  • The anonymous pre-check
Book a Zoom call in English

Prefer to write first? Email us at info@thegoodbroker.de.

Sources and status ·
  1. [1]Sozialversicherungs-Rechengrößenverordnung 2026 (income threshold €77,400; contribution ceiling €5,812.50 a month)
  2. [2]§ 241 SGB V and § 55 SGB XI (contribution rates) with § 1 Abs. 1 PBAV 2025 (general long-term care rate of 3.6% since 2025), and the average additional rate for 2026 of 2.9%
  3. [3]Sozialversicherungs-Rechengrößenverordnung 2027, draft of the Federal Ministry of Labour of 21 September 2026 (income threshold €84,150)
  4. [4]§ 6 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 and Abs. 4 SGB V (free from compulsory cover with a new job above the threshold, on the regular contracted annual salary; after a salary increase at the end of the calendar year, if the salary also clears the next year’s threshold); § 191 SGB V (a voluntary membership ends only by notice)
  5. [5]§ 175 Abs. 4 SGB V (notice to the end of the second month after the month of notice, effective with proof of other cover)
  6. [6]§ 257 Abs. 2 SGB V and § 61 Abs. 2 SGB XI (employer’s share for the employee, children and a spouse or registered partner who would be family-insured under § 10 SGB V: half the premium, at most €508.59 for health and €104.63 for long-term care in 2026; €584.15 in total in Saxony); § 3 Nr. 62 EStG (tax-free)
  7. [7]TheGoodBroker Specialist Access Study, August 2026: 2,082 specialist practices in six cities; median wait for an online-bookable appointment
  8. [8]§ 17 Abs. 1, 3 and 4 KHEntgG (separately charged accommodation and the chosen doctor are elective services on top of general hospital care)
  9. [9]§ 76 SGB V (choice of doctor in public cover: contracted doctors; others only in emergencies, private practices only by cost reimbursement with the difference at your own cost, § 13 SGB V); § 4 Abs. 2 MB/KK (private cover: free choice among licensed doctors)
  10. [10]GKV-Spitzenverband, Festzuschussbeträge from 1 January 2026, finding 1.1 (crown, per tooth), 60%: €239.03; the amounts are set under § 57 SGB V; the hardship rate is capped at the actual costs (§ 55 Abs. 2 SGB V); § 55 SGB V as amended by the GKV-Beitragssatzstabilisierungsgesetz (the subsidy falls from 60% to 50% of the standard treatment in 2027; the 2027 euro amounts are not yet set). The implant itself gets no public subsidy (§ 28 Abs. 2 SGB V); the crown on it does.
  11. [11]§ 188 Abs. 4 SGB V (exit within two weeks of the public insurer’s notice, with proof of other cover)
  12. [12]§ 53 Abs. 8 SGB V (elective tariffs bind for one or three years; bars only a notice)
  13. [13]§ 5 Abs. 5 SGB V (no compulsory public cover for the self-employed in their main occupation, at any income)
  14. [14]§ 243 SGB V (reduced rate without sick pay), § 240 SGB V (contributions of voluntary members, on all income up to the ceiling, set provisionally and settled on the tax assessment, Abs. 4a) and § 55 SGB XI (long-term care rate), with the average additional rate for 2026 of 2.9%
  15. [15]§ 146 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 and 2 VAG (private premiums set by entry age and risk, with old-age provision) and § 149 VAG (10% surcharge until the end of the year in which you turn 60); § 220 Abs. 1 SGB V (public cover financed from current contributions)
  16. [16]§ 19 VVG (duty to disclose your health before the contract; the anonymous pre-check comes before it)
  17. [17]§ 206 Abs. 1 VVG (the insurer cannot give ordinary notice on health insurance that meets the duty to insure; only you can leave)
  18. [18]§ 61 SGB V (co-pay in public cover: 10% of the price, at most €10 a medicine, never more than its cost; 2026)
  19. [19]G-BA Psychotherapie-Richtlinie, §§ 29 and 30 (version of 19 March 2026): public psychotherapy in set hours per course of treatment
  20. [20]§ 32 Abs. 2 SGB V (therapies: a co-pay of 10% of the cost plus €10 a prescription, 2026) and § 33 SGB V (aids: standard models with a co-pay, Abs. 8; glasses for adults only above 6 dioptres of short or long sight, above 4 for astigmatism, or with severe visual impairment, Abs. 2; frames are not paid)
  21. [21]§ 39 Abs. 1 with § 108 SGB V (public cover pays approved hospitals only) and § 39 Abs. 4 with § 61 SGB V (adults pay €10 a day in hospital, for at most 28 days a calendar year, 2026); § 4 Abs. 4 MB/KK (private cover: free choice among public and private hospitals under constant medical direction)
  22. [22]§ 11 Abs. 6 SGB V (a public fund may offer extra benefits in its statute, such as a subsidy for professional teeth cleaning); § 192 Abs. 8 VVG (for treatment over €2,000, the private insurer answers in writing beforehand what it will pay)
  23. [23]Regulation (EC) No 883/2004, Art. 19 (European Health Insurance Card: care within the local public system in the EU, the EEA and Switzerland; the UK under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement) and § 13 Abs. 4 SGB V; § 16 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 SGB V (public benefits suspended abroad unless the Code or an agreement provides otherwise; social security agreements, for example with Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, give care in the local public system there); § 1 Abs. 4 MB/KK (private cover in Europe, outside it for one month a trip unless the tariff gives more)
  24. [24]§ 53 SGB V (public premium refund: at most one twelfth of the year’s contributions, at most €600, only where the fund offers it)
  25. [25]§ 3 EFZG (six weeks of continued pay); § 44 and § 47 SGB V (public sick pay, 70% of gross salary, at most €135.63 a day before deductions in 2026); § 4 Abs. 2 MB/KT (private daily allowance up to net salary); § 192 Abs. 5 VVG (it also pays in maternity protection)
  26. [26]§§ 237 and 240 SGB V (public contributions in retirement, on pensions and other income)
  27. [27]§ 39 Abs. 4 and 4a EStG, BMF letter of 8 December 2025 (insurers report the premiums electronically from 2026; employers take them from ELStAM)
  28. [28]§ 10 Abs. 3 SGB V (children of a publicly and a privately insured parent); § 198 VVG (newborns without health questions if registered within two months)
  29. [29]§ 3 MuSchG (protection period six weeks before and eight weeks after the birth, twelve after a premature or multiple birth); § 19 Abs. 2 MuSchG (maternity payment of up to €210 from the Federal Office for Social Security for women not in public health insurance, once for the whole period); § 20 MuSchG (employer’s top-up)
  30. [30]§ 8 Abs. 1 Satz 1 Nr. 1a and 2 SGB V (stay private on application: unemployment benefit after five years without public health insurance; part-time work during parental leave, for the parental leave only); § 8 Abs. 2 (three months)
  31. [31]§ 5 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 and 2 and § 6 Abs. 3a SGB V (return below the threshold and with unemployment benefit; rule from 55); dormant cover on application under § 204 Abs. 5 and § 205 Abs. 2 VVG
  32. [32]§ 146 and § 149 VAG (ageing reserve; statutory surcharge until the end of the year you turn 60); § 106 SGB VI (pension insurance’s share towards the health premium)
  33. [33]Leaving Germany: in practice, the insurer ends a private contract on the day of deregistration once it has the deregistration certificate (Abmeldebescheinigung); a contract may be cancelled only against proof of new cover while it meets the duty to hold health insurance, and that duty applies to people living in Germany (§ 205 Abs. 6 with § 193 Abs. 3 Satz 1 VVG); depending on the destination, the insurer asks for confirmation of the new cover; TheGoodBroker practice, 2026. Dormant cover (Anwartschaft) is a right under § 13 Abs. 11 MB/KK, with § 204 Abs. 5 and § 205 Abs. 2 VVG and the tariff terms; public cover: membership usually ends on moving away, while § 240 Abs. 4b SGB V lets voluntary members keep it at a reduced contribution during a work-related stay abroad
  34. [34]§ 204 VVG (tariff switch without new health questions for the same or less cover; more cover can mean health questions)
  35. [35]§ 10 Abs. 1 Nr. 3 EStG (basic-cover premiums deductible)
  36. [36]Parental leave: premium waiver for six months of parental allowance in tariffs that offer it (market practice); without a salary, the employer’s share pauses (§ 257 Abs. 2 SGB V). Blue Card: performance-related bonuses usually do not count towards the regular annual salary (§ 6 Abs. 1 Nr. 1 SGB V)

Private figures: TheGoodBroker, typical premiums for healthy employees, long-term care and the statutory surcharge included; €250 to €475 after the employer’s share across the levels; a child €200 to €250 in a very good tariff. Calculator: example premiums from one insurer’s tariffs as at 2026, for a healthy applicant at the entry age given, without a deductible, with long-term care and the statutory surcharge included. Every child is calculated with the premium for a 16-year-old, which is on the safe side for younger children. Entry, Medium and Max: typical tariff levels from our market observation, as at October 2026; the tariff wording decides. Crowns, bridges and implants: typical reimbursement in good tariffs; dental limits apply for the first four or five years in many tariffs, from around €1,000 in year one, none in top tariffs. Premium refund: 1 to 6 monthly premiums, depending on the tariff and the number of claim-free years, set off against your tax-deductible contributions. Public figures: employee at the 2026 maximum, long-term care included, average additional rate 2.9%: €648 without children, €613 with one child. Self-employed prices in the tier table: the full premium at a deductible of up to €600 a year, against the public maximum for the self-employed at the reduced rate without sick pay (€1,226). Legal position: as at October 2026.