Health insurance for students from China

If you come from China and want to study in Germany, you need health insurance. Here are some important things you need to know.

Health insurance is important if you need to see a doctor or go to the hospital. You also need it to enroll in a course of study. In many cases, you also need to be able to present it in order to apply for a visa. But how does the health insurance system work in Germany?

It has been compulsory to have health insurance in Germany since 1883. The background was that at that time many people were so poor that they could not afford proper medical care. Today, we distinguish between statutory and private health insurance.

The GKV offers its members basic medical care. This includes visits to the doctor, medication and the costs of a stay in hospital. The amount of the contribution depends on the individual income. Children are generally insured free of charge.

The GKV is not allowed to exclude anyone because they are ill. This is also referred to as compulsory insurance. On the one hand, because it is compulsory for most people in Germany. On the other hand, because it is obligated to take in people and provide for them.

There are a large number of statutory health insurers in Germany. By the way, you shouldn't get confused by their names. For example, you don't have to be a technician to become a member of the "Techniker Krankenkasse".

In contrast to statutory health insurance, private health insurers have a great deal of freedom when it comes to their services. The only requirement is that they must offer at least the same level of protection as statutory health insurance.

In most cases, providers go far beyond this. For example, many of them pay for a single room in the hospital and treatment by the head physician. They also cover the costs of higher-quality medications that the GKV does not pay for.

A private health insurer is allowed to choose its customers. Depending on the state of health, the insurer may reject a customer. The customer must then take out insurance with a statutory health insurer.

As a student in Germany, you basically have the choice between GKV and PKV. The only requirement is that it must be a so-called "comprehensive health insurance". That means, it must cover all areas of a permanent health insurance. The so-called "travel health insurance" policies are often cheap, but they do not meet these specifications. They are intended for people who go on vacation abroad for a few weeks and get sick (or have an accident) and need to see a doctor.

Although it is usually true that private health insurance is more expensive than public health insurance, this is not true in every case. Our Provisit Student, for example, is a private comprehensive health insurance that may be cheaper for you than the statutory insurance. You can find details here.