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Contractors can buy the public option are actively discouraged from doing so because they are on the hook for both the employer and employee contribution. Also
by valzam 6y ago
Contractors can buy the public option are actively discouraged from doing so because they are on the hook for both the employer and employee contribution. Also ofc there is the "if you have ever been privatly insured you cannot simply go back to public". But for contractors with 2-3 kids public might still be cheaper than private.
- socksy 6y agoIt wouldn't have even occurred to me to switch over to private if I became self employed, just assumed you would price the employer contribution into the day rate. Is switching to private widely expected? I would've thought that Germans were more biased towards the social solution.
- biztos 6y agoIndeed, my mistake. All the independents I know are in private even if they don’t earn that much, so I assumed it was required.
- valzam 6y agoSince the day rate varies wildy I wouldn't say that you can't compete if you stay in the public system but your baseline cost will be 5-7% higher than someone who switched to private. Also private insurance is typically considered "better", at least wait times are often reduced. All of this being said I think the German private/public hybrid is pretty bad. Sure, they make it harder to go back to public when you get older but you can always accept a part-time job for a while and be "forced" to buy public.