PKV No return for students in the GKV

Private insured students may not switch back to the statutory health insurance

10/03/2011

Students who are insured in a private health insurance (PHI) can not subsequently switch back to the statutory health insurance. The Social Court of Trier dismissed with the judgment of a lawsuit of a student. At least until the end of the studies students have to stay in private health insurance.

Anyone who is a student usually has a low income. In addition, most students have to pay tuition. A private health insurance can quickly turn out to be a cost driver because the tariffs are based not on the income of the insured, but on the benefits of the tariff. If students themselves have no income, they can be co-insured with the statutory health insurance. In this specific case, a student now wanted to switch from private health insurance to the GKV. However, the statutory health insurance denied the request and referred to the statutory provisions, which preclude a subsequent return to the SHI, if the insured had previously exempted from compulsory insurance. Finally, this also applies to employees and civil servants, who would also be denied a subsequent change.

During an interruption of his studies, the plaintiff was covered by a statutory health insurance via his parents in the context of family reunification. The plaintiff warned that after three semesters he had dropped out of agricultural science and two years later began to study psychology. The choice of a new field of study or the election of a new university, however, does not matter, the judges. The plaintiff can not orient the nature of his health insurance according to his own needs, so the judge's verdict. The decision to exempt from the statutory health insurance of the student is binding at least for the duration of the study, it says in the verdict (file number, Social Court of Trier: S 5 KR 119/10).

Recently, the Confederation of Insured and Stiftung Warentest warned against a premature change to private providers. If individual living conditions change, a private health insurance can quickly become much more expensive. Therefore, such a step should always be considered long-term by those affected. The Social Court ruling again showed that a return is almost impossible without exception. Social tariffs, family reinsurance and income-dependent contributions to the health insurance does not know. (Sb)

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Health insurance: students pay 21 percent more
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Picture: Sebastian Bernhard