Health insurance for employees

You can become a member directly on this page via the ‘Become a member’ link. If you would like some advice beforehand, you can contact us by phone or e-mail or visit one of our 110 service centres in Germany.

If you have begun your membership at the start of your employment contract (or enrolment), you are insured with the KKH from this point onwards. The prerequisite is an employment contract or official enrolment at a university in Germany.

The social insurance number (or national insurance number) is used to identify a person in the social insurance system. With the help of this identification, the pension insurance collects relevant information for the implementation of the insurance and the claiming or granting of social benefits. When you join the KKH, we will apply for your social insurance card and send it to your postal address. You do not have to do anything.

Once you have taken out membership and sent us a photo, we will send you your health insurance card. As a rule, we need 14 days to create and send the card.

The health insurance card is your personal ID card for medical services. All the necessary information about your health insurance and emergency data is shown or stored on the card - so that you can be treated easily and safely. The card is scanned at the doctor's surgery or hospital and all necessary medical services are billed directly to the KKH. Since 2024, prescriptions can also be stored on this card and collected from the pharmacy via the card, so a paper prescription is no longer required.

The KKH provides you with the card free of charge.

In principle, you are obliged to present your insurance card at the doctor's surgery before starting a consultation or treatment. If the card is missing or invalid, you must present proof of insurance issued by your health insurance company within ten days.

If you have lost your KKH insurance card or it has been stolen, please contact us immediately to obtain a replacement card free of charge.

It depends on the length of the interruption. As a KKH member, you can continue your compulsory insurance without paying contributions if the interruption in employment lasts no longer than one month - provided that both jobs are compulsorily insured. In a specific case, it is best to contact us by telephone or e-mail or obtain information from one of the 110 service centres nationwide.

You must inform us when you leave Germany for good so that we can cancel your health insurance in good time. To do this, you must deregister with the residents' registration office beforehand and submit a copy of this document to us. If you continue to work for a German employer but move your main place of residence abroad, both you and your German employer are subject to the social insurance law of your new country of residence and you must be insured there.

In Germany, you are obliged to pay health insurance contributions. You pay 50% of this contribution and your employer pays 50%.

The amount of your contribution depends on your salary before tax. For 2025, the monthly health insurance contribution to KKH is 18,38% of your salary before tax, of which you pay 9,19% and your employer 9,19%. 

Health insurance contributions are paid directly by the employer to the health insurance fund each month. You can see on your payslip how much you pay for your health insurance contribution .  

If your salary in Germany is above a fixed limit (2025 - €5,512,50 per month, or €66,144 per year), your contribution rate to statutory health insurance is calculated on the basis of this salary limit. This means that the contribution rate of 18,38% will be calculated on the salary of €5,512,50, even if your actual monthly income exceeds this amount.

Spouses and children of a KKH-insured person under the age of 24 can be insured free of charge.

You can find detailed information on family insurance at www.kkh.de/versicherung/vorteile/familienversicherung

You can also insure your spouse/life partner if they are not self-employed as their main occupation or earn a regular income of more than € 505.00 per month.

A detailed list of all requirements can be found at www.kkh.de/versicherung/vorteile/familienversicherung

Children can be co-insured up to the age of 23. If they are in school or vocational training, family insurance can be taken out until they reach the age of 25.

A detailed list of all requirements can be found at www.kkh.de/versicherung/vorteile/familienversicherung

The KKH reimburses you for all medically necessary healthcare services and treatments. This includes treatment in medical, specialist or therapeutic practices, hospitals, basic dental care, prescription drugs and more. 

With your statutory health insurance, you can generally visit any medical practice that is authorised to provide treatment under the statutory health insurance scheme.

With the free search app 116117-APP (App Store / Googleplay) you can filter and search for all practices in Germany. You can select according to the language you speak and the department you wish to consult. The app is linked to Google Maps so that you can find your way directly to the doctor's surgery. Alternatively, you can also use the following links: https://arztsuche.116117.de/ and www.kzbv.de/zahnarztsuche.

You can visit some specialist practices without a referral - but in Germany, your GP, paediatrician, dentist or gynaecologist is the recommended first port of call for all your further healthcare needs.

In Germany, you are financially covered if you are on sick leave due to illness or an accident, i.e. if you are unable to work. In most cases, your employer will continue to pay your salary for the first 6 weeks of your sick leave. After that, the KKH will provide you with sickness benefit under certain conditions.

Medication that requires a prescription in Germany is usually picked up at a pharmacy with a pink prescription slip or directly via the health insurance card. The pharmacy settles the costs directly with the KKH. You have your own share of ten per cent of the costs (a minimum of five Euros and a maximum of ten Euros) for each medication that you pay directly at the pharmacy. You can find further information on the reimbursement of medication here: www.kkh.de/leistungen/arzneimittel/rezepte

To contact the emergency service, dial 112. This emergency assistance will be completety paid by the KKH. You only have to make a small co-payment of five to ten euros. If you have medical problems that are not acutely life-threatening but cannot reach your doctor's surgery, the general medical on-call service (telephone number: 116117) will provide you with medical assistance.

In Germany, you will be referred to a hospital for further treatment/further examinations by a doctor's practice on request. To do this, you will need a corresponding referral/referral slip.
You can only go directly to a hospital in emergencies, especially outside the opening hours of your doctor's surgery, or in the event of an accident.

The hospital invoices the KKH directly for the costs of a hospital stay in Germany (e.g. an operation). Your statutory contribution of ten euros per person per day (maximum 28 days per year) will be sent to your home in the form of an invoice after you are discharged from hospital, and you only need to transfer this amount to the hospital.

The KKH supports you and your family with numerous benefits that go far beyond those prescribed by law. You can read about all individual benefits such as osteopathy, professional dental cleaning and immunisations for children and adults in detail here: www.kkh.de/versicherung/mehrwerte

Preventive medical check-ups are an important part of the German healthcare system. They help you and your medical practice to recognise and treat illnesses as early as possible. Information about the many preventive services offered by KKH can be found under Vorsorgeuntersuchungen: Krankheiten frühzeitig erkennen | KKH.

The statutory health insurance funds only reimburse the costs of dental treatment to a limited extent. In addition to preventive dental check-ups and professional teeth cleaning, the KKH covers a wide range of dental treatments such as dental care and orthopaedics. You can find detailed information about all dental health options and cost coverage on Zahngesundheit | KKH.

Vaccination is not compulsory in Germany. However, certain vaccinations are recommended, as they immunise your body and help you to ward off infectious diseases. You can find out in detail here when which vaccination is advisable and under what conditions we will cover the costs. 

Assistive products are movable objects or products that are required to ensure the success of medical treatment, to prevent an impending disability or to compensate for a disability. These include, for example, spectacles, inhalers, wheelchairs and walking aids. Statutory health insurance companies can cover the costs of such aids.

In our overview you will find questions and answers on all aids, how to apply for them and which costs are covered or subsidised. 

If you have questions about pregnancy, breastfeeding counselling or the choice of hospital, the KKH can advise and support you. In addition to practical tips and information, you can contact us at 110 service centres for a personal consultation in German or English. You can find your nearest service centre at www.kkh.de/kontakt/servicestellen
You can also find information on midwifery and childbirth at Hebammensuche.de

The KKH supports you throughout your pregnancy. In addition to covering the costs of examinations under the statutory health insurance scheme, we will reimburse all or part of the costs of examinations, treatments and services worth up to €500.

You are free to choose whether you give birth in a hospital, a birthing centre or at home. Your gynaecological practice will advise you on the choice of location to ensure your well-being and that of your child.

The KKH and other sites offer extensive information material on all questions:

• Pregnancy and childbirth: www.kkh.de/schwangerschaft-geburt
• Maternity benefit: www.kkh.de/mutterschaftsgeld ; www.familienwegweiser.de
• Birth and childbirth: www.hebammensuche.de
• Obstetricians and gynaecologists: www.arztsuche.kbv.de

Maternity protection or ‘maternity leave’ describes the period when mothers enjoy special protection. Maternity protection begins 6 weeks before the expected date of birth and ends 8 weeks after the birth. During this time, employment is prohibited, while at the same time income is secured through maternity benefit.

Employees and self-employed women who are entitled to sick pay can receive maternity benefit. The amount depends on your regular monthly income, the maximum amount is set by law. Information on maternity benefit and how to apply for it can be found under Beantragung von Mutterschaftsgeld | KKH.

In Germany, preventive medical check-ups for children from birth to the age of 17 are specified and are the responsibility of the parents. The regular check-ups for children include examinations for congenital and acquired diseases, normal physical and mental development, immunisations, etc. The costs are reimbursed by the KKH.

In some federal states, the U examinations are mandatory up to U9. In general, the paediatric practice will inform the public health department if an examination is not carried out at the specified time or within four weeks. 

If a child under the age of 12 is ill and needs to be cared for at home, each parent with statutory health insurance can use up to 15 working days a year to care for the sick child. During this time, you will continue to receive a salary from your employer. If this entitlement is excluded in the employment contract or collective labour agreement, you can apply for child sickness benefit from the health insurance fund.

People with statutory health insurance generally receive 90 per cent of their net salary reimbursed by the health insurance fund.

Within the European Union you will find the ‘EHIC - European Health Insurance Card’ logo on the back of your KKH card. According to the agreement within the European Union, you have the same access to medical care in the Union as in Germany. As a rule, you can use your KKH card for medical treatment without having to pay the bill yourself. However, depending on the healthcare system of the country in question, there are a number of points to bear in mind, which you can find out about online before travelling.

The KKH can only cover costs if the medical services you have received are included in the public healthcare system of the respective country. And we will only reimburse the amount that the same treatment would cost in Germany. Medical repatriation and search and rescue services are not covered by the EHIC.

This depends on your nationality. EU citizens can use their EHIC card within the EU and some other EEA countries (Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway). In most cases, however, non-EU citizens cannot use their EHIC card in Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein - additional travel health insurance is then essential when travelling to these countries.

The foreign health insurance certificate is a document with which you can prove your insurance cover when travelling to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Tunisia or Turkey. The EHIC is not valid here. Please request a foreign health insurance certificate from us before travelling.Please note that the foreign health insurance certificate only covers emergency treatment that cannot be postponed until your return to Germany.

We recommend that you always take out private health insurance when travelling abroad. Regardless of your destination, you may incur additional costs for your treatment and in the event of necessary repatriation. You can quickly take out private supplementary insurance online, for example with our partner Care Concept.

Please send your completed application by post:
KKH, Hauptverwaltung, 30144 Hannover

or by fax:
0511 2802-2196