Why do employees with private health insurance need to choose a public provider?
Employees starting a job in Germany who have private health insurance are required to select a public health insurance provider for their social security contributions. This requirement is due to legal obligations on employers to process social security payments, like pension and unemployment insurance, through a public provider.
In this situation, private and public insurance play very different roles:
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’s responsible for handling your social security contributions.
What do you need 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 handle all related social security payments automatically.