Public health insurance includes income protection, allows dependents to be added at no additional cost, and has a physical insurance card, but often involves longer wait times for appointments and requires dental coverage add-ons.
Private health insurance generally offers faster appointments, broader coverage including dental, optional income protection, with a digital-only insurance card. Dependents can be included at an additional cost.
| Private health | Public health |
Speed of appointments | ✔ Usually faster; doctors often reserve slots for private patients | ❌ Often longer wait times |
Comprehensive cover | ✔ Broader coverage, including dental (most plans) | ❌ Dental add-on recommended |
Pregnancy cover | ✔ Yes | ✔ Yes |
Income protection | Optional add-on | ✔ Included |
Insurance card | ❌ Digital only (no physical card) | ✔ Physical card provided |
How do appointment wait times compare between public and private health insurance?
Private health insurance usually offers faster appointment scheduling because doctors often reserve slots for private patients. Public health insurance might have longer wait times for appointments.
What coverage differences exist between public and private health insurance?
Private health insurance typically provides broader coverage, including dental services in most plans. Public health insurance requires an additional dental add-on for broader dental coverage. Both public and private health insurance cover pregnancy-related medical care.
How does income protection differ between public and private health insurance?
Income protection is always included with public health insurance. Private health insurance often offers income protection as an optional add-on that can be selected when signing up, allowing customization based on individual needs. For both types, employers pay salaries for the first 42 days of sick leave before income protection begins.
What types of insurance cards are provided by public and private health insurance?
Public health insurance provides a physical insurance card. Private health insurance provides only a digital insurance card and does not issue a physical card.
How do payment methods differ between public and private health insurance?
If you are employed with a German company, your public health insurance premiums are automatically deducted from your pay slip. Private health insurance premiums are deducted from your bank account at the beginning of each month. Your employer will then reimburse their share of the contributions in addition to your pay slip each month.
Employers are required to contribute 50% of the costs for both you and your dependents, up to the maximum amount they would contribute towards public coverage.
How do claim processes differ between public and private health insurance?
For public health insurance, showing the insurance card at the doctor’s office covers costs directly with no out-of-pocket payment or claims submission. Private health insurance requires uploading a photo of the invoice through your account. Claims are typically processed within 1 to 4 weeks. If anything’s missing, our support team will reach out.
Check out our plans to see the extensive comparison of the coverage of public and private health insurance.