The AOK is a group of health insurance agencies which together form one of the largest health insurers in Germany. AOK stands for Allgemeine Ortskrankenkasse.
Each Bundesland has its own AOK, and for visitors to Germany this is the first port of call if they need to visit a doctor in order to get their EU health insurance card (previously E111) validated.
There are other health insurance agencies, such a the TKK (Techniker Krankenkasse), many of which are targeted at specific career groups.
Next year the Gesundsheitsfond takes hold, meaning that everyone should pay the same for their health insurance, and the choice of agency will be made based on the cover offered and not solely on the cost.
To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:
(Press the “play” button to listen to the podcast)
Krankenversicherung is the name given to the main form of health insurance in Germany. It does not, however, cover all the costs that you pay when you visit a doctor in Germany.
Although the doctor’s fee will usually be covered, there is a fee of 10EUR per quarter that has to be charged by the doctor and forwarded to the insurance company. Also, consultations for holiday vaccinations are generally not covered.
When the doctor writes a prescription, the costs of that prescription may be in part covered by the insurance, or it may well be a private prescription and thus not covered at all by the health insurance.
Under certain circumstances the insurance may, however, cover other costs such as taking leave from work to look after a sick child, or loss of earnings during a stay in hospital.
Some insurance companies offer extra options, such as staying in a single room when you are in hospital, or being taken care of by a consultant rather than a junior doctor.
Krankenversicherung is usually paid for directly out of a person’s wages as the employer pays a contribution towards the insurance. Self-employed peopple have to pay the entire amount themselves. The amount due is dependent on someone’s income.
Pflegeversicherung was introduced in 1995 and covers the situation when people are unable to care for themselves. They are classified into different Pflegestufen and the insurance pays for the relevant care appropriate to the Pflegestufe.
Not only is this insurance paid separately, but in order to assist in financing it a public holiday – Buß- und Bettag – was reverted to a normal working day.
To hear a simple explanation and a short discussion in German, listen to the podcast:
(Press the “play” button to listen to the podcast)
Disclaimer: this podcast is a simple explanation for non-native speakers. For insurance advice, please contact a Versicherungsvertreter or Versicherungsmakler.
Please click on ACCEPT to give us permission to set cookies [more information]
This website uses cookies to give you the best browsing experience possible. Cookies are small text files that are stored by the web browser on your computer. Most of the cookies that we use are so-called “Session cookies”. These are automatically deleted after your visit. The cookies do not damage your computer system or contain viruses. Please read our privacy information page for more details or to revoke permission.
