Why do you need to choose a public provider?
If you’re starting a job in Germany and have private health insurance, your employer may ask you to choose a public health insurance provider.
This can be confusing, but there’s a simple reason: it’s about social security, not health coverage.
In Germany, your employer must use a public health insurance provider to handle your social security contributions, like pension and unemployment insurance. This is required by law for all employees.
Private health insurance: This is your actual health coverage. It pays for your medical treatment.
Public health insurance provider: Does not cover your medical care. Instead, it takes care of social security payments.
What to do?
All you have to do is tell your employer which public health insurance provider (e.g. TK, BARMER) to use for your social security contributions. After you chose, your employer will take care of the rest automatically.