Anyone who needs a crown, bridge or denture in 2027 will pay more towards it. On 1 January the statutory health funds cut their fixed subsidy by ten percentage points. There is one deadline you can still use, though, and it runs out in nine weeks.
What exactly changes?
The subsidy is calculated on the Regelversorgung, the fund’s standard treatment. Until now the funds have paid 60 per cent of it, 70 per cent with an unbroken five-year Bonusheft (the stamped check-up booklet) and 75 per cent after ten years. From 2027 it is 50, 60 and 65 per cent. The basis is the GKV-Beitragssatzstabilisierungsgesetz, in force since the summer. According to zm-online, the dental profession’s trade outlet, this restores the level of September 2020. The hardship rule for low earners is unchanged: if you qualify, the standard treatment is still paid in full.
Apotheken Umschau (dpa) puts it in euros. For a molar crown with a standard cost of €400, the subsidy without a Bonusheft falls from €240 to €200. For a three-unit upper-jaw bridge (about €1,718) with a ten-year Bonusheft it drops from roughly €1,289 to €1,116, so your share rises by €173. Ceramic or an implant already costs the patient considerably more.
How do you keep the old rate?
According to several reports, what counts is not when treatment starts but when the fund approves the subsidy. If the Heil- und Kostenplan (treatment and cost plan) is approved in 2026, the old rate applies even if treatment happens next year; approval is valid for six months. So if your dentist has recommended larger work, have the plan submitted now rather than in December, because processing takes time. It is unclear whether a plan submitted before the cut-off but approved after it is protected; only approval by 31 December is safe.
The second point is the Bonusheft. You need one stamp per calendar year, meaning a check-up by 31 December at the latest; a missing 2026 stamp can cost you the five- or ten-year bonus. Consumer advice centre Verbraucherzentrale NRW says children and teenagers are entitled to two check-ups a year at the fund’s expense, adults to one. For children from six months to 17 the funds also pay for dietary and brushing advice, fluoride treatment and sealing of permanent molars.
Our view: for people who only go for check-ups, nothing changes. Larger dental work gets more expensive, and those patients have the window until year-end. Martin Hendges, chairman of the national association of statutory-insurance dentists (KZBV), told zm-online he does not expect the quality of care to suffer, but expects a large part of patients’ contributions to be covered by private dental top-up policies. If you consider one, note that it usually does not pay for treatment already recommended.
If you are new to Germany and unsure whether earlier dental visits count towards the Bonusheft, ask your health fund directly; it decides case by case.
Sources: Bundesgesundheitsministerium, zm-online, Apotheken Umschau (dpa), Verbraucherzentrale NRW
