Four things change, and they all point the same way
The law behind this is the GKV-Beitragssatzstabilisierungsgesetz, the act meant to stabilise statutory contribution rates. It came into force on 30 July 2026, and most of what it does takes effect on 1 January 2027.
It stabilises contributions by paying out less. That is worth saying plainly, because it is the part that affects you.
| What | Until now | From 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Prescription medicines | 10 % of the price, at least 5 €, at most 10 € | 10 %, at least 7.50 €, at most 15 € |
| Physiotherapy, speech therapy, home nursing | 10 % plus 10 € per prescription | 10 % plus 15 € per prescription |
| Hospital stay | 10 € a day, up to 28 days a year | 15 € a day, same 28-day cap |
| Dental work, standard grant | 60 % of the standard treatment | 50 % |
| Dental grant with a complete check-up record | 70 % after five years, 75 % after ten | 60 % after five years, 65 % after ten |
| Homeopathic and anthroposophic medicines | some funds paid them voluntarily | not reimbursable at all |
A two-week hospital stay cost 140 € in co-payments. From January it costs 210 €. A crown that the fund valued at 1,000 € drew a 600 € grant; now it draws 500 €.
Already in forceHomeopathy is already out, and in 2027 it is out for good
Since 30 July 2026, doctors may no longer prescribe homeopathic or anthroposophic medicines at the expense of the statutory system. Until the end of 2026 individual funds may still pay for them from their own statutes, as a voluntary extra. From 1 January 2027 even that stops.
This matters more than the money involved. Several statutory funds used these benefits to advertise themselves. That option is gone.
Private policies are not affected. What a private contract covers is written in the contract, and alternative treatment is a standard part of many of them, though not of all, and the wording differs. If this matters to you, it is one of the first things to check, not the last.
The part most people missThe income threshold moved, and it moved twice
To leave the statutory system as an employee, your regular annual salary has to clear the Jahresarbeitsentgeltgrenze, the compulsory insurance threshold. In 2026 it stands at 77,400 €.
For 2027 the reform adds an extraordinary rise of 3,600 € on top of the normal adjustment. And this is where it gets unusual: which threshold applies to you depends on when your private cover started.
| Your private policy starts | Threshold that applies to you in 2027 |
|---|---|
| on or before 31 December 2026 | 80,550 € (the normal adjustment only) |
| on or after 1 January 2027 | 84,150 € (including the extraordinary rise) |
Both figures are estimates until the official regulation appears in autumn 2026.
If you already hold private cover and your salary sits between the old threshold and the new one, you can become compulsorily insured again on 1 January. There is a way out: an exemption. But you have to apply for it, within three months, and it cannot be reversed. The details are on the German page on the 2027 thresholds.
Pull out your December payslip and have both thresholds checked against it. If you are close to the line, you want to know in January and not in March, when the three-month window is almost shut.
What this does not mean
A reform that makes the statutory system weaker is not, by itself, a reason to go private. Three things are worth keeping straight.
The co-payments are small change next to the real question. Fifteen euros a day for a hospital stay, capped at 28 days, is at most 420 € a year. A private premium is a decision measured in decades. Do not let a reform decide it.
Private cover has no co-payments, but it has a deductible. Most private tariffs carry an excess you pay yourself before anything is reimbursed. Whether that comes to more or less than the statutory co-payments depends on your tariff and on how often you see a doctor.
The threshold cuts both ways. The same rise that makes it harder to go private also makes it easier to be pulled back in. That is not a footnote; for some people it is the whole question.
What to doIf you are weighing this up
Three questions decide it, and none of them is answered by a reform.
Does your income clear the threshold, reliably? Not once, but as a regular annual salary. A single good year is not enough. Who may join goes through this.
What does your health history look like? This decides whether you get an offer at all, and at what price. It is checked before you apply, anonymously. See the health check.
Will the premium still work in thirty years? The entry price is the least interesting number about a private policy. What it costs explains what actually drives it.