The public health insurance card, called the Gesundheitskarte or electronic health card (eGK), is the card your public health insurance provider issues as proof of your public health insurance coverage in Germany. It stores your personal insurance data on a microchip, and every insured person, including children, receives their own card. Your provider requests a photo and confirmation of your address before issuing the card. You present the card at every visit to a doctor, dentist, hospital, or pharmacy so treatment is billed directly to your provider. The back of the card carries the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which covers medically necessary state healthcare during temporary stays in other participating European countries.
What is the public health insurance card (Gesundheitskarte or eGK)?
The public health insurance card, known as the Gesundheitskarte or electronic health card (eGK), is the card that proves you have public health insurance (GKV) coverage in Germany. The card contains a microchip that stores your personal insurance data, including your full name, date of birth, address, and insurance number. Your public health insurance provider issues the card, and every insured person receives their own card, including children and other insured family members. The card is about the size of a standard credit card.
How do I get my public health insurance card?
Your card is issued after your public health insurance membership is confirmed. The process runs as follows:
Your public health insurance provider confirms your membership.
Your provider contacts you to request a photo and confirmation of your address.
You submit the photo and confirm your address.
Your provider produces the card and sends it to your registered address.
If you applied for public health insurance membership through us, you can also request the card for most providers in your Feather account, where you can upload your photo and confirm your address digitally.
What information is printed on my public health insurance card?
The front of the card shows the following:
Chip: stores your public health insurance data so that a practice or pharmacy can read it electronically.
Your full name, printed at the lower left of the card.
The name of the public health insurance provider that issued the card, printed under your name, along with the provider's name or logo.
A 9-digit number labeled Versicherung: the identification number of your public health insurance provider.
A number labeled Versichertennummer, made up of one letter followed by 9 digits: your personal insurance number.
Your photograph, printed for everyone aged 15 and older.
The back of the card is the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) and shows the following numbered fields:
A signature field, where your signature confirms that you are insured with the issuing provider and that the card is not transferable to anyone else.
Field 3, Name: your last name.
Field 4, Vornamen: your first names.
Field 5, Geburtsdatum: your date of birth.
Field 6, Persönliche Kennnummer: your personal insurance number, the same number printed as Versichertennummer on the front.
Field 7, Kennnummer des Trägers: the identification number of your public health insurance provider for EHIC purposes.
Field 8, Kennnummer der Karte: the number of the physical card itself.
Field 9, Ablaufdatum: the date the card expires.
Where do I find my insurance number on my public health insurance card?
Your personal insurance number is printed on the front of the card under the label Versichertennummer, and it consists of one letter followed by 9 digits, for example A123456789. The same number appears on the back of the card as field 6, Persönliche Kennnummer. The separate 9-digit number labeled Versicherung identifies your public health insurance provider, not you, so it is not the number to give when you are asked for your insurance number.
How do I use my public health insurance card at a doctor, dentist, hospital, or pharmacy?
Present your card at every visit to a doctor, dentist, or hospital, and at the pharmacy when you collect prescribed medicine. The practice or pharmacy reads the information stored on the chip to verify that your public health insurance coverage is active and to bill your provider directly. This means you receive covered medical services without paying upfront.
Do I need to carry my public health insurance card with me?
Carry your card with you at all times. The card is your proof of public health insurance coverage, and healthcare providers need it to confirm your coverage and bill your provider directly. Without the card, a practice can ask you to pay for the visit yourself and submit the card afterward.
Does the public health insurance card cover me when I travel in Europe?
The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) on the back of your card gives you access to medically necessary, state-provided healthcare during temporary stays in other European Union countries, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. The EHIC applies to temporary stays such as holidays or short business trips, not to relocating to another country.