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Living overseas

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Germany health care system

2 replies

whywhywhyohwhy · 04/03/2026 16:57

We are moving to Germany in July. Dc school places and flat organised so far. But I don’t have any clue about their health care system. Is there pages like NHS has where you can find information? I have several chronic conditions and need medications.

OP posts:
Needsomepeaceandquiet · 04/03/2026 20:54

The health insurance is mandatory. It’s a two-tier system with public or private options. Look up Krankenkasse. Some of them such as TK have lots of Info in english. With the public insurance you can also cover children under the your own insurance. If you have a job, your contributions come out of your salary. If you are not working you will need to provide info. of your income (they might ask for your Tax return as evidence) and this determines how much you pay above the base level.
Once you have your insurance card get yourself a Hausarzt and ask them about specialists. You’ll also need a Kinderarzt, Frauenarzt and specialist doctors relating to your chronic conditions. You have to do the legwork, phoning around finding drs that are currently taking on new patients, not all will. It can get quite frustrating but if you can get a good Hausarzt they can probably help. A good Kinderarzt is also essential. Ask around for recommendations,

Fuzzypinetree · 14/03/2026 06:52

It also depends on your job(s) and your income. If you earn above 77600 Euros a year, public insurance is no longer compulsory. You can sign up for private insurance (but you don't have to). If you are self-employed, you usually have to take out private insurance.

The benefit of being in public insurance is that your children are insured for free as part of the "Familienversicherung". It's also usually cheaper. It automatically gets deducted from your pay.

Yes, get a Hausarzt/GP when you move. They usually ask that you live in the area. Kinderarzt/pediatrician, dentist and gynaecologist are also important. If you need a specialist doctor, you usually get a referral from your Hausarzt and then just make an appointment. Check that the specialist is accepting public insurance (some only do private and self-paying patients).

In comparison, I feel like I get better care here than I did under the NHS (and I had no issues with the NHS when we still lived in the UK). I get same day appointments for my kids in most cases, same with our GP. Our dentist is down the road from us and will also see us within an hour, if there's a real issue. Referrals so far have been no issue at all. My gynaecologist takes a bit longer with appointments, but they've also been super helpful during my pregnancy. We've been to A&E twice so far and never had to wait for more than an hour to be seen.

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