It is important to choose the optimum health protection. Because the benefits of your health insurance should suit you. In many cases, private full health insurance is a good alternative to statutory health insurance. There are however various prejudices opposite the private ones – our fact check shows the five most frequent errors.
The right health protection for you
Your health is your greatest good. That’s why you shouldn’t rely on prejudices – we’ll shed light on the most common misconceptions about private full health insurance and do the fact check.
With a private full health insurance you can optimise your health protection and benefit from the advantages of a private patient.
Our local contacts will be happy to provide you with further information on R+V’s private health insurance.
IRRTUM 1: Private health insurance premiums are constantly increasing.
The fact is that arbitrary increases and increases due to ageing are excluded from private health insurance (PKV). Premium increases are only possible under certain legal conditions, e.g. rising treatment costs and longer life expectancy.
The statutory health insurance (SHI) is also affected by the rising costs in the health care system, which results in regular premium increases. In addition, demographic change also has a special influence on the development of contributions in the SHI system, because fewer and fewer people in employment have to co-finance the costs of healthcare for more and more pensioners.
Development of maximum SHI contribution 1 and SHI contribution 2 on the basis of a SHI insured with R+V
Why does one always only hear about premium increases in private health insurance?
PKV companies inform their policyholders of any change in contributions. The SHI, on the other hand, only informs about changes in the percentage contribution rate or an additional contribution.
In addition, there are other reasons for a higher financial burden in the SHI system:
- Raising the income threshold
- Increasing income
- Restrictions on benefits (high deductibles, e.g. for dental prostheses, loss of benefits)
IRRTUM 2: Private health insurance is far too expensive in old age.
The fact is: In private health insurance there are no contribution components in old age. The 10 per cent statutory surcharge is no longer applicable at the age of 60, nor is the contribution to the daily sickness benefit insurance with retirement.
Examples of contributions at retirement age in statutory health insurance and private health insurance
How can R+V cushion rising premiums in old age?
In order to reduce premiums in old age, R+V offers an additional premium relief component in addition to health insurance. With the saved credit balance, premiums can be reduced by the agreed amount from the age of 65. The contributions for the premium relief component are tax deductible and eligible for employer contributions to the same extent as the medical expenses insurance.
IRRTUM 3: I’m just as well covered in statutory health insurance.
The fact is:
- The desired scope of services can be selected in the PKV itself. In contrast, the SHI benefits are based on a defined benefits catalog and in many areas offer only one basic service. For this reason, benefits in private health insurance can be far above the level of statutory health insurance.
- The benefits are contractually defined in the private health insurance. In the SHI system, on the other hand, benefits may be reduced further – as in the past.
- As a rule, privately insured persons not only receive an appointment with a specialist quickly, but also benefit greatly from medical progress, for example new treatment methods and medication. In the SHI system, doctors are subject to restrictions – whereas the SHI system is a “budget-free zone”.
Overview of the benefits of GKV and PKV
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Co-payments in the GKV are higher than you think
IRRTUM 4: There is no deductible in statutory health insurance.
The fact is: In the SHI system, co-payments are incurred, e.g. for pharmaceuticals. Co-payments can account for up to 2 percent of gross annual income. With an annual salary of 55,000 euros, this is 1,100 euros per year before co-payment exemption is possible.
In addition, there are costs for services which are not or not fully covered by the SHI, such as dental prostheses or visual aids. Especially in the case of dental prostheses, this can amount to several thousand euros.
IRRTUM 5: Private health insurance is not suitable for families.
The fact is that in many cases, despite the benefit advantages, the coverage is not more expensive or even cheaper for families in private health insurance than in statutory health insurance.
Example of contributions in GKV and PKV for a family with two children
Mother Anja works part-time as a nurse (gross 1,500 EUR/month) and father Daniel is employed full-time as a project manager in a medium-sized company (gross 5,000 EUR/month). The two children Hanna and Tom attend kindergarten.