Health Insurance

What is it about?

As a new student, you are required to prove your health insurance status to your university before you enrol.
As of 1 January 2022, the relevant information must be transferred electronically.

As a rule, students who are studying at a higher education institution in Germany are subject to mandatory insurance in the German statutory health insurance scheme.
However, students who want to be or remain insured with a private health insurance provider in Germany or with a non-German health insurance provider can request an exemption from mandatory statutory health insurance.

What do I have to do?

I am insured in the German statutory health insurance scheme

Ask your insurance provider for confirmation of your insurance status.
Your insurance provider will then transmit the required information to us electronically.
You will not have to send us a confirmation letter.

I am not insured in the German statutory health insurance scheme (e.g. because I have private health insurance coverage or coverage from a non-German health insurance provider)

If you were insured in the German statutory health insurance scheme at some point in the past, contact the last German public health insurance fund with which you were insured to request an exemption from mandatory statutory health insurance.

If you have never been insured in the German statutory health insurance scheme, you can file that request for exemption with any German public health insurance fund. You can find information on foreign health insurance here.

Due to my age (over 30), I am no longer subject to compulsory insurance.

Nevertheless, please contact a German health insurance fund and have proof of insurance status sent to us.

Please always include our sender number when requesting proof of insurance status. This will enable you to send the electronic notification more quickly.

Sender number of the University of Würzburg: H0000265

¹ Section 199a Subsection 1 Sentence 2 Sozialgesetzbuch V (social code, book V, SGB V) stipulates that the German National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds is responsible for determining which information about mandatory statutory health insurance must be provided by universities and the Stiftung für Hochschulzulassung to students and applicants for admission.

Mandatory insurance

All students who are enrolled in a degree programme at a state or state-accredited university in the Federal Republic of Germany are subject to mandatory statutory health insurance. This includes students enrolled in a programme at a university in Germany whose permanent home or habitual abode is in a country other than Germany. Students who can demonstrate that they are entitled to benefits in kind from a non-German health insurance provider are not subject to mandatory statutory health insurance. Whether the health insurance a student has taken out with a non-German provider is considered to be sufficient depends, among other factors, on whether Germany has relevant arrangements with the country in which that student’s primary place of residence is located. Students enrolled in a programme/course at a distance learning institution whose permanent home or habitual abode is in a country other than Germany are not subject to mandatory statutory health insurance.

Students will cease to be subject to mandatory statutory health insurance no later than at the end of the semester in which they turn 30. Students will continue to be subject to mandatory statutory health insurance beyond that date if

the nature of the training they are completing (e.g. a language course that culminates in the DHS test (German language test for university admission), provided that successful completion of that test is a prerequisite for admission to university),
family-related reasons (e.g. the student’s need to care for a family member with care needs),
their personal circumstances (e.g. a medical condition that renders the student unable to attend classes),
or in particular if the fact that they obtained their higher education entrance qualification via second chance education

justify/justifies disregarding the age limit.

Exemption from mandatory insurance

Individuals who become subject to mandatory statutory health insurance upon their enrolment in a programme at a university have the option to request exemption from that insurance. If you want to request an exemption, you must submit your request to the competent public health insurance fund - this is usually one of the health insurance funds you could have chosen if you had not decided to request an exemption (cf. section ‘Choice of health insurance funds’ below) - within three months from the date on which you became subject to mandatory statutory health insurance. An exemption from mandatory statutory health insurance is irrevocable; you will remain exempt for the duration of your enrolment in your programme. For the exemption to become effective, you must demonstrate that you have some other form of health insurance coverage, e.g. have taken out private health insurance.

Non-contributory co-insurance

Students are not subject to mandatory student health insurance if they are co-insured through a parent, spouse or registered civil partner who is insured in the German statutory health insurance scheme. Non-contributory co-insurance in the statutory health insurance scheme is available to individuals under the age of 25 who are attending school, college or university or are completing a vocational training, provided that all other conditions are met. To find out what these conditions are, contact your competent health insurance fund. When you graduate from, or drop out of, university, your co‑insurance coverage will end at the end of the semester in which you graduated or dropped out but will end at the latest on the day before your 25^th birthday.

If your school/college/university education or vocational training was interrupted or deferred by a period of voluntary military service, a Bundesfreiwilligendienst or Jugendfreiwilligendienst volunteer service or a comparable recognised volunteer service or a development volunteer service, your co-insurance coverage will continue beyond your 25^th birthday for a period corresponding to the duration of your service period but for not longer than 12 months.

Insurance in the statutory health insurance scheme on a voluntary basis

Students who cease to be subject to mandatory statutory health insurance (e.g. when they reach the applicable age limit) will be insured in the statutory health insurance scheme on a voluntary basis. If you do not wish to remain insured in the statutory health insurance scheme on a voluntary basis, you can terminate your membership of that scheme. Please bear in mind, however, that you must declare your intention to leave the scheme to your health insurance fund within two weeks from the date on which it informed you that you have the option to terminate your membership. For your termination of membership to become effective, you must demonstrate that you have some other form of health insurance coverage, e.g. have taken out private health insurance.

Students engaging in gainful employment

Students who engage in gainful employment that is not marginal and low paying while attending university or a vocational school are considered to be employees, not students. This means that their employment is subject to statutory health insurance contributions. Students who are gainfully employed but devote their time and effort primarily to university/school are considered to be students, not employees. This means that their employment is not subject to statutory health insurance contributions.

Choice of health insurance funds

Students who are subject to mandatory statutory health insurance or are entitled to be insured in the statutory health insurance scheme on a voluntary basis can choose between the following public health insurance funds:

the Allgemeine Ortskrankenkasse (AOK) health insurance fund for their place of employment or place of residence or the AOK responsible for the city in which their university is located,
an approved alternative health insurance fund,
the competent company health insurance fund, provided that they are employed at a company and that company has a company health insurance fund,
any company or guild health insurance fund, if the statutes of that fund provide for this,
the KNAPPSCHAFT health insurance fund,
the last public health insurance fund with which they were insured or co-insured before they became subject to mandatory statutory health insurance or entitled to be insured in the statutory health insurance scheme on a voluntary basis,
the health insurance fund with which their spouse or registered civil partner is insured.

Long-term care insurance

The following principles apply: When an individual enrols in a programme at a university and thus becomes subject to mandatory statutory health insurance, he or she also becomes subject to mandatory statutory long-term care insurance. When an individual is exempted from insurance in the statutory health insurance scheme, he or she is also exempted from insurance in the statutory long-term care insurance scheme. The principle that non-contributory co-insurance takes precedence over mandatory statutory insurance as a student applies to both statutory health insurance and statutory long‑term care insurance.

Proving your insurance status to your university

As a new student, you are required to prove your insurance status to your university before you enrol. What you must do is ask the competent health insurance fund (see below) to confirm your insurance status, i.e. state whether or not you are/will be insured in the German statutory health insurance scheme effective on or before the first day of the semester in which you are planning to commence your degree programme or, respectively, the day on which you enrol in that programme. Your health insurance fund will forward that confirmation directly to your university via an electronic notification system.

The health insurance fund you will have to contact for that confirmation of your insurance status is the fund with which you are or will be insured when you commence your degree programme. If you requested an exemption from mandatory statutory health insurance, the health insurance fund that has granted you that exemption will be responsible for confirming your insurance status. If you will not be insured in the German statutory health insurance scheme when you commence your programme, please request the confirmation of your insurance status from the last health insurance fund with which you were insured or co-insured or, if you have never been insured in the German statutory health insurance scheme, from any one of the health insurance funds you could choose if you were subject to mandatory statutory health insurance.

More information

This information sheet provides general information only. For more specific information (e.g. about contributions), please contact the competent health insurance fund.
For more information about the electronic notification procedure of mandatory statutory health insurances go to www.datenaustausch.de.

The most frequently asked questions about student health insurance:

You will have to request a confirmation of your health insurance status from your statutory health insurance provider (gesetzliche Krankenkasse) and will have to let them have our sender number (Absendernummer). Your health insurance provider will then generate a dataset (M10 notification) and will transfer it to a special data server over a secure and encrypted connection. We retrieve the data from that server twice a day and input them into the WueStudy system.

Your M10 notification will usually take 2 to 3 working days to arrive at the University of Würzburg.

This is due to the fact that your statutory health insurance provider will first have to generate the notification and transfer it to a special data server over a secure and encrypted connection. Notifications from some health insurance providers will take longer than that to arrive as they will not be transferred directly to the data server but will first be sent to what is called a reception point (Annahmestelle). This includes, for example, all AOKs.

The University of Würzburg will not be able to retrieve your M10 notification and input the data into the WueStudy system until the notification has been transferred to the data server.

We retrieve the data from the server twice a day and input them into the WueStudy system.

As soon as the dataset (M10 notification) is received and assigned to you in the WueStudy system, you will find a message notifying you of that fact on the home page of your WueStudy user account. In addition, you will receive an email informing you that you have a new message in your WueStudy user account.

When you commence a degree programme at a higher education institution, you automatically become subject to mandatory statutory health insurance. At that point, you have the option to switch to insurance in the German statutory health insurance scheme.

If you want to switch from private to statutory health insurance, pick the statutory health insurance provider that is right for you and take out health insurance with them. When you do so, please also ask the staff at your new statutory health insurance provider to let the University of Würzburg have a confirmation of your health insurance status (M10 notification).

If you want to remain insured with a private health insurance provider, please contact any of the statutory health insurance providers in Germany and request an exemption from mandatory statutory health insurance (Befreiung von der gesetzlichen Krankenversicherungspflicht). Once granted, the exemption will remain in effect for the entire duration of your university studies. Please also ask the staff at the statutory health insurance provider to let the University of Würzburg have a confirmation of your health insurance status (M10 notification).

If you want to remain insured with a private health insurance provider, please contact the last statutory health insurance provider with which you were insured and request an exemption from mandatory statutory health insurance (Befreiung von der gesetzlichen Krankenversicherungspflicht). Once granted, the exemption will remain in effect for the entire duration of your university studies. Please also ask the staff at the statutory health insurance provider to let the University of Würzburg have a confirmation of your health insurance status (M10 notification).

When you commence a degree programme at a higher education institution, you automatically become subject to mandatory statutory health insurance.

If you are receiving free medical care (Freie Heilfürsorge), please contact any of the statutory health insurance providers in Germany and request an exemption from mandatory statutory health insurance (Befreiung von der gesetzlichen Krankenversicherungspflicht). Once granted, the exemption will remain in effect for the entire duration of your university studies. Please also ask the staff at the statutory health insurance provider to let the University of Würzburg have a confirmation of your health insurance status (M10 notification).

The requirement to provide a confirmation of their health insurance status applies to all prospective students, including those who are over 30 and no longer eligible for student health insurance.

If you are insured in the German statutory health insurance scheme, please contact your statutory health insurance provider and ask them to let the University of Würzburg have a confirmation of your health insurance status (M10 notification).

If you were insured in the German statutory health insurance scheme at some point in the past, please contact the last statutory health insurance provider with which you were insured and ask them to let the University of Würzburg have a confirmation of your health insurance status (M10 notification).

If you have private health insurance coverage, please contact any of the statutory health insurance providers in Germany and ask them to let the University of Würzburg have a confirmation of your health insurance status (M10 notification).

If you are insured with a non-German health insurance provider, please contact any of the statutory health insurance providers (gesetzliche Krankenkasse) in Germany and ask them to let the University of Würzburg have a confirmation of your health insurance status (M10 notification).

When you contact them, the staff at the German statutory health insurance provider will ask you for information about the health insurance you are bringing from abroad. They will then check whether you will have to take out health insurance in Germany or whether you are eligible for exemption from mandatory insurance in the German statutory health insurance scheme.

More information for students who are bringing health insurance from abroad can be found on the web pages of the JMU International Students Office.

No, you won’t. Only those students are subject to mandatory statutory health insurance who are enrolled in an undergraduate (e.g. Bachelor’s, state examination) or graduate (e.g. Master’s) programme. Students who are pursuing doctoral studies are not subject to mandatory statutory health insurance. This is due to the fact that doctoral studies usually serve the purpose of obtaining a further academic qualification after completion of a university degree and are therefore not considered to be part of your academic training. Doctoral studies are not considered to be ‘regular’ university studies relating to academic training (German Federal Social Court, decision of 7 June 2018, B 12 KR 15/16 R).

No, you can’t. Doing so would actually slow the process down as it would lead to confusion and extra work for us. If we receive several M10 notifications from different statutory health insurance providers, this will lead to delays in the enrolment process as we will have to find out with which provider you are actually insured or which provider has actually granted you the exemption.

If the individual notifications are received over a longer period of time, we may not be able to find out with which provider you are actually insured or which provider has actually granted you the exemption and may thus even have to revoke your enrolment.

As soon as you are enrolled in your programme at the University of Würzburg, we will send your statutory health insurance provider an electronic notification containing the date of your enrolment and the start date of the semester in which you will commence your programme. You won’t have to do anything.

If you change health insurance providers while enrolled at a higher education institution, you will have to let your new health insurance provider know at which institution you are enrolled. Except for that, you won’t have to do anything. Your new health insurance provider will then send us an electronic notification (M11 notification) to let us know that you have changed health insurance providers. Once we have received that notification, we will send your new health insurance provider an electronic notification containing the date of your enrolment and the start date of the semester in which you commenced your programme.

Yes, it will. If you are in arrears with health insurance contributions, your health insurance provider will have to notify us of that fact immediately by sending us an electronic notification (M12 notification). As soon as that M12 notification is received and assigned to you in the WueStudy system, we will bar you from re-enrolling to continue your studies in the next semester (Rückmeldesperre). When that happens, you will find a message on the home page of your WueStudy user account notifying you that you have been barred from re-enrolling and will also receive an email informing you that you have a new message in your WueStudy user account.

Please contact your health insurance provider to resolve the matter. As soon as you have paid your outstanding contributions, your health insurance provider will send us an electronic notification (M13 notification) to let us know. As soon as that M13 notification is received and assigned to you in the WueStudy system, we will remove the bar and you will find a message on the home page of your WueStudy user account notifying you that the bar has been removed. You will also receive an email informing you that you have a new message in your WueStudy user account.

As soon as you are disenrolled from your programme at the University of Würzburg, we will send your health insurance provider an electronic notification (M30 notification) to let them know. That notification will contain the date of your disenrolment and the end date of the semester in which you were disenrolled from your programme.

In addition, you should in all cases contact your health insurance provider yourself about what your health insurance status will be after you leave university.

If you are insured in the German statutory health insurance scheme, the University of Würzburg will be required under Section 199a (3) Sozialgesetzbuch V (Social Code, Book V) to immediately send notifications to your health insurance provider at the following points:

When you commence your degree programme: immediately after we receive the confirmation of your health insurance status from your insurance provider
When you are disenrolled from your programme: immediately after you are disenrolled (irrespective of whether you are disenrolled at the end of a semester or at some point during a semester)
When you commence your doctoral studies (if you were enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate programme in the semester immediately preceding the semester in which you commence your doctoral studies)

As required under Section 199a Sozialgesetzbuch V (Social Code, Book V), your health insurance provider will share the following information with the University of Würzburg:

Your name
Your address
Your date of birth
Your insurance number (if you have one at the time the notification is sent)
Where applicable: the start date of your insurance coverage (if you change health insurance providers)
Where applicable: the information that you are in arrears with contributions
Where applicable: the information that you have paid your outstanding contributions

As required under Section 199a Sozialgesetzbuch V (Social Code, Book V), the University of Würzburg will share the following information with your health insurance provider:

Your name
Your address
Your student ID number
Your date of birth
Your gender
The start date of the semester in which you commenced your programme
The date of your enrolment
The end date of the semester in which you were disenrolled from your programme
The date of your disenrolment