Additional contribution 2025: This is how expensive your health insurance will be in comparison

Many people with statutory health insurance will have to pay more in 2025. Because at the turn of the year, numerous health insurance companies increase the additional contribution. Because healthcare costs are rising, the Federal Ministry of Health expects an increase of 0.8 percentage points. This means that next year the additional contribution would be an average of 2.5 percent. However, the differences are significant from cash register to cash register.

Numerous increases are already known. It becomes clear that some cash registers are stretching even further. The Techniker Krankenkasse, for example, will more than double its additional contribution from 1.2 to 2.45 percent. As a reason, the largest statutory health insurance fund with twelve million insured people – like other health insurance companies – cites significant additional expenditure on treatments and medicines.

Despite the hefty surcharge, the Techniker Krankenkasse is still one of the more affordable health insurance companies. Other health insurance companies now charge an additional contribution of significantly more than 3 percent (see table below). The Knappschaft, for example, is increasing the additional contribution for its insured persons by 1.7 percentage points to 4.4 percent in 2025. It will be interesting to see what the Barmer and DAK funds, which have a large number of members, do. They want to announce their additional contribution for 2025 on Friday.

The additional contribution is added to the uniform general contribution rate of 14.6 percent of gross wages. Both the contribution and the additional contribution are paid equally by the employer and the employee. If the total contribution increases by one percentage point, an employee with a gross wage of 4,000 euros has to pay 20 euros more per month or 240 euros more per year for their health insurance. With a surcharge of 1.5 percentage points, it would be 360 ​​euros more per year. For higher incomes, the contribution increases are even higher in absolute terms – at least up to the contribution assessment limit of 5,513 euros gross income per month.

In view of the numerous and significant increases in additional contributions, it is worthwhile for contributors to compare health insurance companies. Switching from an expensive to a cheap health insurance fund can – as shown above – save several hundred euros a year. If the health insurance company increases the additional contribution, a special right of termination applies until the end of the month in which the health insurance company charges the new contribution for the first time. In addition, there is the regular cancellation option at any time for everyone who was insured with their old insurance company for at least twelve months. The commitment period can only be longer for special optional tariffs.

The change is now very easy: you just have to register with the new health insurance company of your choice, which will then take care of the cancellation and initiate the change. If you want to make sure that the cancellation works at the end of the month, you shouldn’t wait until the last day. The cancellation only becomes effective when the new fund informs the old one of the change. Insured persons should allow for a few days of processing time. After termination, you are still insured with the old insurance company for two full months. A termination in January would mean that you will be with the new fund from April 1st.

The following tables show the increases in additional contributions that have already been announced, with more to follow in the next few days.

Source: Krankenkassen.de; As of 12/19/24

Source: Krankenkassen.de; As of 12/19/24