The headline number for 2027 is 2.9 per cent. That is the average additional health-insurance contribution the Federal Health Ministry confirmed on 30 October – unchanged. But it is only a benchmark. What you actually pay is set by your own Krankenkasse, and it can move.
The official estimators’ panel (Schätzerkreis) forecast some relief on 14 October. According to the ministry, spending should grow by less than 3 per cent in 2027, after almost 7 per cent this year; the contribution-stabilisation law (GKV-BStabG) takes up to €19 billion off the funds’ costs. For the first time in three years, revenue would keep pace with spending. The association of substitute funds, vdek, points out that the average actually charged today is 3.13 per cent – many funds already ask more than 2.9.
Does my fund have to warn me about a rise?
Not any more. Since 30 July 2026 funds no longer have to tell members by letter or digitally that contributions are going up, the consumer advice service Verbraucherzentrale says. Some do it voluntarily, for instance in their app. The special right to leave (Sonderkündigungsrecht) remains: if your fund raises its additional contribution, you can cancel until the end of the month in which the new rate first applies.
An example: the rate rises on 1 January 2027, so you can give notice until 31 January. Membership ends after two full months, here on 31 March, and from 1 April you are with the new fund. Until then you pay the higher rate. The usual 12-month lock-in does not apply in this case. You do not need to cancel yourself: pick the new fund, tell it you are using the special right, and it handles the paperwork electronically. Check first that the fund is open in your federal state.
How much does switching save – and when is it not worth it?
Employees split the additional contribution with their employer. By our calculation, on a gross salary of €3,000 every tenth of a percentage point in difference saves €1.50 a month. Moving from a fund charging 4 per cent to one charging 2.5 per cent is about €22.50 a month, roughly €270 a year. Stiftung Warentest puts the saving from a costly fund to the cheapest nationwide one at about €340 a year at €3,000 gross; the self-employed save about twice as much because they carry the whole contribution. Note that lower contributions raise taxable income, which eats into the gain.
Price alone is not the whole story. Statutory core benefits are largely the same; bonus schemes, optional tariffs, extras such as dental cleaning or osteopathy, and service differ – including whether there is advice in Ukrainian or English. Ask the fund directly before you switch.
If you receive Bürgergeld, the Jobcenter normally pays your contribution, so there is nothing to save, though you can still change fund for better services; the Jobcenter or a migration advice centre can help.
Our assessment: 2027 is likely to be calmer than recent years, but not a given. vdek warns that changes to the savings law without matching funding could push rates up again – notably a location clause for the pharmaceutical industry that could add up to €1.3 billion in costs. That is a risk, not a certainty. What is certain: look up your own rate once (payslip, the GKV-Spitzenverband fund list, your fund’s website) and you will not miss the January deadline.
Sources: Federal Health Ministry (BMG), vdek, Verbraucherzentrale, Stiftung Warentest
