Specialist center finance AG & Co.KG
Lippstadt
In order to relieve the burden on the expensive healthcare system in Germany, the economist Bernd Raffelhüschen proposes that insured persons pay a deductible of up to EUR 2,000 per year. In addition, more should be paid out of your own pocket: Smokers, for example, should be given a greater share of the follow-up costs of treatments and people with statutory health insurance should also pay privately for injuries with a high self-imposed risk – for example when skiing.
“According to these proposals, the services of the GKV will not only be more expensive, but also worse. This is not new, there have already been numerous health care reforms in Germany in the past – always with the same result: falling services, more co-payments and nevertheless constantly increasing contributions “, knows the insurance expert and author Dieter Homburg.
Only a few insured persons, in particular civil servants, the self-employed, freelancers and high-earning employees, are allowed to permanently switch to private health insurance and secure permanently stable benefits there. In this article, the specialist reveals whether the change is worthwhile at all and what must be considered above all.
Why private health insurance can be an alternative
There is a huge gaping hole in statutory health insurance (GKV): At least since the corona crisis, costs have gotten increasingly out of control. With his proposal to introduce a deductible of 2,000 euros for patients with health insurance, the Freiburg finance scientist Bernd Raffelhüschen started a nationwide debate. Since then, more and more people have been toying with the idea of whether it might be worth switching to private health insurance.
And yes: In principle, private health insurance can be an alternative to protect yourself from the plans of the federal government. Especially when you consider that, unlike in the GKV, it is not possible in the PKV to subsequently reduce the benefits for the insurer. Cleverly employed, you can protect your health much better in this way and ensure affordable contributions into old age.
In order to find out whether switching to private health insurance is worthwhile in individual cases, however, various factors should be taken into account. Only those who are healthy enough, are not yet too old and make sure that contributions are affordable in the long term are better off with private health insurance. It is therefore important to take enough time for the topic in order to make the right decision afterwards.
PKV as an option: What should be considered when changing
First of all, people who are thinking about switching to private health insurance should carefully check whether they are allowed to take out private health insurance at all: because there are legal requirements in Germany that regulate which groups of people can choose between statutory and private health insurance. Civil servants, the self-employed, students and employees above a certain annual income are admitted to the PKV. The gross income for employees must therefore be above the so-called annual income limit. This is currently 66,600 euros per year. However, this usually increases every year. For people who are civil servants, private health insurance is often the best option. For all other groups of people, switching to private health insurance is only worthwhile under certain conditions.
In addition to income, age also plays a role: the younger the insured person is when they join private health insurance, the lower the contributions. In old age, i.e. from around 45 years of age, the relationship between statutory and private health insurance can tilt to the detriment of private health insurance. Especially if children are also to be insured. A PKV is then usually only an option in exceptional cases.
Furthermore, the individual health situation must not be disregarded: Anyone who already has certain pre-existing conditions may have difficulties in being admitted to private health insurance. This can result in high premiums. Here it can be financially worthwhile to prefer the GKV.
That is why insured persons should beware of baiting offers
Everyone knows the many advertisements that claim that you can get top-quality insurance for just 250 or 300 euros a month. In 100 percent of the cases, however, these tariffs contain expensive gaps in performance in the small print, which the insured usually only see when it is already too late. Therefore, such offers, which can often be seen in glossy brochures, are strongly discouraged.
In addition, the monthly contributions are regularly massively undercalculated and usually become very expensive in old age. In truth, good health protection in private health insurance costs more than 400 euros a month for good reason. It is therefore better for insured persons to choose an insurer right from the start that offers good benefits and a tariff that has been proven to have very stable contributions.
With good insurers, premiums have only increased by around 2 to 3.5 percent per year over the past 30 years. Anyone who then puts back the savings compared to the statutory health insurance consistently and with a high return can afford good health protection even into old age. So they have the reins in their hands because they can easily pay the contributions to private health insurance in old age. It is not uncommon for insured persons to be able to build up a cushion of 100,000 euros or more from savings compared to the GKV in this way.
It is also important to remember that as a privately insured person you do not need expensive additional insurance, you save on various co-payments in the GKV and you get so-called contribution refunds. This money can also be sensibly put aside for affordable contributions to your own private health insurance.
What privately insured people benefit from in practice
Many think that the advantage of private health insurance is primarily faster doctor’s appointments with specialists. In fact, that’s not all. Privately insured people in good tariffs save on expensive co-payments, do not have to take generic drugs, have access to all private medical practices, private clinics and capacity operations. In particular, privately insured persons have a free choice of doctor and medical practitioner throughout Germany. This means that you can have the best specialists work for you for any type of illness.
An example should clarify this: In hip operations, the recurrence rate, i.e. the rate of subsequent problems, is statistically 20 times higher in the worst clinics than in the best clinics. Those with private insurance, on the other hand, can go straight to the best addresses, where players from top football clubs such as FC Bayern are also insured. Always on the condition that you have opted for a high-performance tariff.
Conclusion
All in all, switching to private health insurance is an individual decision that should be carefully considered. It is therefore important to carefully weigh the pros and cons. Just because you have the fundamental right to switch to private health insurance does not mean that switching is automatically financially worthwhile. In certain cases, the GKV is the better choice despite increasing contributions.
Groups of people who consider switching to private health insurance a good solution should make sure that they not only compare the current price and benefits, but also consider the long-term stability of contributions over at least 25 years. This is the only way for consumers to ensure that they do not choose a tariff blindly.
In addition, it is highly recommended to consistently and profitably invest part of the savings from switching to private health insurance. In order to be supported in the search for a stable tariff with first-class conditions and reasonable reserve formation in old age, it can be helpful to consult a private health insurance professional. This not only saves you time and money, but also nerves, because in an emergency you can rely on your health insurer to actually pay when it matters.
About Dieter Homburg:
Dieter Homburg is the owner of the specialist finance center and the bestselling author of the book “Retirement Provision for Dummies”. He writes for Focus and has appeared several times on RTL. For more than 25 years he has been comparing the contribution curves of private health insurance companies and has already helped over 5,000 entrepreneurs, freelancers and executives to save over 100,000 euros on their own pension and health insurance. More information at: https://pkv-beitragsheilung.de/?utm_source=homepage
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Specialist center finance AG & Co.KG
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Original content from: Fachzentrum Finanzen AG & Co.KG, transmitted by news aktuell
