“The premiums are very high”

Rewrite this contentHome pagebusinessCreated: 01/27/2023, 4:39 p.mSplitPay attention to the services: some health insurance companies subsidize dental cleaning, some do not. © imagoFR telephone campaign Experts explain to our readers whether and when it is possible and sensible to change health insurance and where to save at the wrong end.I have had private health insurance for many decades and have been a pensioner for years. The contributions are very high, although I am already on the cheapest tariff. Is there a way to switch to statutory health insurance? no After the age of 55, a change from private to statutory is no longer possible.I am self-employed and privately insured. A contribution of more than 870 euros is too high for me. Are there ways to reduce premiums? First, have your insurer check whether benefits can be reduced, for example by waiving the optional benefits in the inpatient area. Furthermore, a tariff change to a similar but cheaper tariff according to Section 204 Insurance Contract Act VVG is possible. A final option is to switch to the standard or base plan. Discuss the options with your insurer.I am voluntarily insured in statutory health insurance and my income from my employment is above the contribution assessment limit. Can I still save money when switching health insurers? The limit applies to all statutory health insurers. no As correctly said, the contribution assessment limit applies to all statutory health insurance companies. The amount of the contributions can only vary due to the individual additional contribution. Here you should also compare the additional services of the respective health insurance companies. For example, if I switch from health insurance company A to health insurance company B, I can save 100 euros a year in contributions. However, health insurance company A subsidizes my professional teeth cleaning with 100 euros per year. Health insurance company B does not offer any subsidy. A change would not be worthwhile in this case.I’m looking for a better rate. What options are there? Contact your insurer and let them advise you on your personal conversion options.I’ve heard of a voluntary statutory insurance where you only have to pay your contribution for around 1130 euros – regardless of your actual income. I am a pensioner, voluntarily insured and have to pay my contribution from my actual income. Is there a way to switch to this other tariff? no Statutory health insurance contributions are always calculated on the basis of actual income. The mentioned calculation from about 1130 euros, regardless of the actual income, only represents the minimum assessment basis. This means: Even if you only had an income of 800 euros per month, the contribution calculation would have to be based on this minimum assessment basis.Is there a special tariff only for pensioners in private insurance? No, such a tariff does not exist. The private insurance system works according to the funded method. At a young age, so-called aging reserves are formed, which are used at retirement age. Thus, no special tariff is required and offered only for pensioners.I am considering taking early retirement. What impact would that have on pensioners’ health insurance? Absolutely none. You have to apply for a pension from the statutory pension insurance for the health insurance for pensioners (KVdR). The type of pension does not matter. It is important that you fulfill the so-called pre-insurance period. This is the case if you had statutory health insurance for at least nine tenths of the second half of this period from the time you first started gainful employment until you applied for a pension.I am self-employed, privately insured and almost 70. My income has shrunk significantly due to Corona. Can I reduce my contribution for a year? Since the contributions in private insurance are not calculated according to income, it is initially not possible to temporarily reduce them while maintaining the same insurance cover. However, there are insurers who reduce the scope of insurance for a limited period of time. This then leads to a cheaper contribution. Talk to your insurer.I am a retired civil servant and pay almost 890 euros to the statutory fund. Can I switch to private? My friend only pays about half as a civil servant there. You can obtain offers from various private health insurance companies. You may be able to switch via the private opening campaign, but this is subject to certain conditions. Also note that a health check is required and admission is not guaranteed. Look for individual advice.As a chronically ill person, can I switch to another private insurance? A change as a chronically ill person is not possible, since a health check is carried out with every private insurance company.My husband is retired and we have three adult children. My husband pays the minimum contribution for voluntarily insured persons of over 200 euros, although he only draws a pension of 550 euros. Can anything be changed? He should have his health insurance company check his status again. He may be able to make up for the missing pre-insurance periods with the three children he has and switch to the compulsory insurance for pensioners. A new regulation from 2017 makes this possible. It can be read in paragraph 5 paragraph 2 SGB V.My husband is a pensioner and has voluntary health insurance because he did not meet the requirements for inclusion in the pensioners’ health insurance scheme. Is that correct or can he still be compulsorily insured as a pensioner? The health insurance companies always check whether the prerequisite for the health insurance of pensioners is possibly met. This is fulfilled if at least nine tenths of the second half of this period has been voluntary, compulsory or family insurance in the statutory health insurance system since you first started gainful employment until you applied for a pension.I am privately insured at the standard rate. Are my regularly required orthopedic shoes also insured there? Yes, orthopedic shoes are also insured in the standard version in the standard tariff.Can the status of a voluntarily insured person also be checked for a 95-year-old? Yes, compulsory insurance may also be possible here due to possible child credit periods.How can it be that the corona surcharge is withdrawn and the contributions still increase? The corona surcharge was limited in time and has been eliminated. However, the insurer may have adjusted its premiums. Normally, the letter of the contribution increase is accompanied by a reason.Is an increase in private long-term care insurance by around a third legal and are there alternatives? There are no alternatives. The increase has been approved by the trustee. Correspondingly increased expenditure in long-term care insurance can be assumed.My private insurance increased the premium significantly. is she allowed to do that Who can give me information about this? Statutory standards also apply to private health insurers for increasing contributions. The respective tariff as well as the basis of calculation – benefit expenditure and probability of death – must be specified for the increase. You can contact the consumer advice center or the ombudsman for private health insurance at www.pkv-ombudsmann.de.What about the possibility of suing if the contribution increases are not properly justified? You can contact the consumer advice center or a lawyer to examine the possibility of filing a lawsuit against the premium increase. In principle, the contribution adjustments are legal if there is sufficient justification.Marlen Kesper from the AOK Hessen. © privateBastian Diel from the Association of Private Health Insurance. © privateSilke Möhring from the consumer center in Hesse. © private and and more content about “The premiums are very high”