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> Also (though this may only be relevant to Germany) health insurance for full-time contractors is private insurance with massively higher rates, instead of the
by BjoernKW 11y ago
> Also (though this may only be relevant to Germany) health insurance for full-time contractors is private insurance with massively higher rates, instead of the "standard" insurance provided to employed people.
This isn't the case necessarily. The premium for private health insurance depends on your medical history and your age. If you're older and have chronic illnesses the premium generally will be a lot higher than say when you start out as a healthy 20-year-old. In that case you'll probably even save a lot compared to the compulsory health insurance for employees.
Besides, even if the premium for private health insurance in Germany often is higher than the corresponding premium for the state-run insurance the thing with the latter is that your employer has to pay the same amount, too. So, the actual premium for compulsory health insurance in Germany in fact is twice the amount mentioned on your payslip.
- _ak 11y agoYou think you may save money in the short run, but private health insurances can hike their rates almost as they like, and they certainly do with people aged 40+.
- BjoernKW 11y agoWhile what you're saying is correct there is no single best option. The German system is pretty much geared towards employees. For non-default cases such as freelancers and entrepreneurs the system is convoluted at best and downright broken in some respects. It probably still is one of the better healthcare systems worldwide but there are so many stakeholders involved - the least important of whom is the patient - that it has a lot of flaws that need fixing but aren't very likely to be fixed in the foreseeable future.