What is it?
The employer contribution is generally related to what the employer would have paid for statutory health insurance, with a legally defined cap. A similar principle can apply to long-term-care insurance, subject to its own rules. The exact amount depends on the employee's status, remuneration, the applicable statutory limits, and the recognised premium. A private tariff with expensive optional benefits does not normally make the employer pay beyond the maximum subsidy. The employee should distinguish the total premium from the personal share after subsidy, and should ask payroll how the amount will appear on the payslip. Employer support can also change if employment, salary, or legal conditions change.
Why it matters
A subsidy can make a premium appear affordable at the start, while the total contract cost remains the employee's responsibility if the subsidy is reduced or capped. Include the personal share, deductible, possible risk surcharge, and future family costs in your comparison. Do not treat a payroll estimate as a binding insurer offer or assume that changing jobs produces the same result. Current law, eligibility, recognised premiums, and maximum subsidy amounts need verification before the policy is arranged. Ask the employer's payroll team and read the tariff documents carefully.
Practical example: A fictional employee receives a PKV quotation showing a total monthly health and care premium. Before accepting it, the employee asks payroll to estimate the employer subsidy under the current rules and calculates the remaining personal payment. A second tariff has broader optional benefits but a similar headline employee share only because the estimate assumed a subsidy near its cap. The employee compares both total costs and checks whether the calculation includes the deductible.
Expert tip
The employer contribution is usually the 50% share that the employer pays towards your private health insurance. This increases your net income because you pay the premium from your own bank account using your net pay. Any reimbursements are also paid into your private bank account. Remember that the contribution is capped at the amount the employer would pay towards statutory health insurance, so it is not unlimited.
Related terms
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