Health insurance

Yes. Everybody in Germany must have health insurance. This is why it is known as mandatory health insurance.

If you are injured or become sick, you can go to a doctor and will not have to pay anything if you have statutory health insurance. If you have private health insurance you often have to pay in advance but will get most of it back later. Thanks to health insurance, you can see any doctor, get a prescription for medication or receive hospital treatment. In addition, you can take advantage of check-ups, treatments and other services.

For this you pay a fixed amount every month.

If you don't take care of getting health insurance in good time, you might have to pay a lot of money afterwards, namely for the whole time you did not have health insurance in Germany. This can quickly lead to huge debt burden for you. If you already have this problem, please feel free to contact us.

In sex work, your health plays a particularly vital role because you are in close physical contact with other people.

If you get sick or want to go for check-ups, you would have to pay a lot of money for medical care yourself if you had no health insurance. 

If you want to find out how to get into the health insurance system, Unabhängige Patientenberatung Deutschland (UPD) (Independent Patient Counselling Service Germany) can give you free advice. They have counselling centres all over Germany and a helpline. 

You can ask questions about health insurance, but also health-related, medical or legal questions.

The patient counselling service offers helplines in several languages:
UPD helpline (free of charge from all networks, including mobile phones):

German (Mon to Fri 8.00 am to 10.00 pm): 0800 0 11 77 22
Turkish (Mon to Sat 8.00 am to 6.00 pm): 0800 0 11 77 23
Russian (Mon to Sat 8.00 am to 6.00 pm): 0800 0 11 77 24
Arabic (Tues 11.00 am to 1.00 pm, Thurs 5.00 pm to 7.00 pm): 0800 33 22 12 25

www.patientenberatung.de

If you would rather speak to someone from UPD face-to-face, you can make an appointment by calling the freephone number 0800 011 77 25.

When you have chosen a health insurance provider, you must pay a certain amount every month, even if you are not sick. In return, your health insurance will cover the costs of your care when you are ill.

The amount of your health insurance contributions and whether you have to pay them alone depends on the type of your health insurance, your employment and your earnings. Some services or examinations are not or only partly paid for by your health insurance. Then you will have to pay a share of your own.

Germany offers a statutory (GKV) and a private (PKV) health insurance system.

In the statutory health insurance (GKV) system, you pay monthly contributions to your health insurance provider. In return, you receive an insurance card which you can always use to see a doctor free of charge.

For some medical services, you may need to pay part of the costs or even the entire treatment yourself. The doctor must inform you about this beforehand. You will then have the choice of paying for the service yourself or of doing without. 

In the private health insurance (PKV) system you need to pay the medical bills yourself first. But you will usually get most of the money back from the health insurance provider later.

If you are self-employed, you have to take care of your health insurance yourself.

Self-employed people usually have the choice of whether to take out statutory or private insurance. Many self-employed people opt for private health insurance (PKV).

Self-employed people can always take out private insurance, regardless of how much they earn. While the contributions are low in younger years, they often become very high in old age. 

Private health insurance providers are not allowed to refuse you. They must insure you at least at a basic rate.

If you are self-employed, it might make sense to opt for statutory health insurance on a voluntary basis. For example, if you have family: In the statutory health insurance system, your family members will be insured free of charge.

You should carefully consider which of the two systems to choose. It is often difficult to switch to the other system later.

If you are an employee, you are eligible for statutory health insurance (GKV). Your employer will then register you with a health insurance provider of your choice. He or she will pay half of your monthly contribution. The remainder will be deducted directly from your salary and transferred to the health insurance provider.

In such a case, you can request support from one of the five “clearing agencies for ensuring regular access to the health care system” (“Clearingstellen zur Sicherstellung des regelhaften Zugangs zum Gesundheitsversorgungssystem”). These agencies are located in Cologne, Dortmund, Duisburg, Gelsenkirchen and Münster. You can find more information here.

In addition, the supervisory authorities can help you, the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Federal Social Security Office. You can find more information here:

• www.mags.nrw/kontakt
• www.bundesamtsozialesicherung.de

You are self-employed if you are free to choose both your working hours and your place of work. If you are the operator of a prostitution establishment, you are also considered to be self-employed.

You are employed if you work in prostitution for a specific employer on the basis of an oral or written employment contract.

Health insurance is mandatory in Germany, which means that you must get health insurance if you work here.

There are two types of health insurance - statutory and private.

The type of health insurance depends on your work situation.

You can find more information here.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

You can only work in Germany if you have a work permit.

If you work here, you must have health insurance. Health insurance in Germany is mandatory.

There are two types of health insurance - statutory and private.

The type of health insurance depends on your work situation.

You can also get information about mandatory health insurance in Germany when you register your sexual services at the relevant public order enforcement office (Ordnungsamt). You can find more information here.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.