Statutory health insurance is financed for the most part through the contributions of its members. The amount of the contribution depends on the financial means available to the member.
Statutory health insurance is financed through the contribution of employers and the insured. The contribution amount depends both on an employee's assessable income up to a defined contribution assessment limit, which is adjusted each year (2012: 45,900 Euro per year) and on the contribution rate. Like with unemployment or pension insurance, there is an uniform, legally stipulated contribution rate for statutory health insurance. The generally applicable contribution rate for statutory health insurance is 15,5 percent.
Employer (7,3 percent) and employee (8,2 percent) each pay a different share of the contributions. Employees who are voluntarily insured because their income exceeds the upper limit are still entitled to a supplement towards their contributions from their employer.
Contributions for trainees with a wage or salary up to 325 Euro per month are paid in full by the employer. For pensioners who are compulsorily insured, the pension insurance fund pays a share of the contributions out of the pension, paying the contribution directly to the health insurance fund. Pensioners who are voluntarily insured pay their own contributions to the health insurance fund. They can however apply for a contribution supplement from the pension insurance fund. Students pay the so-called student contribution, which is the same for every health insurance fund.
Behind the basic funding structure of the statutory health insurance system is the solidarity principle. The solidarity principle means that in the statutory health insurance system those who are financially better-off help those with lower incomes, the young help the old and singles help out families. This is expressed by the fact that contribution amounts are based solely on each members financial capabilities, calculated as a percentage of assessable income.
