Before you start

Employment contract or proof of income
Meldebescheinigung from your Anmeldung
Steuer-ID
A German bank account for contributions

Step-by-step

1
Understand the two systems before choosing
Statutory charges a percentage of income up to a ceiling, covers dependants at no extra cost, and allows free switching between funds. Private prices on age and health at entry, charges per person, and rises with age.
OnlineWho: YouFirst month
2
Choose statutory if eligible and unsure
Statutory funds differ modestly in supplementary rate and extras, and switching between them is easy. Starting statutory keeps the option open; the reverse move generally does not exist.
OnlineWho: You
3
Register with a Hausarzt in your first fortnight
Your GP is the practical entry point to specialist care. Mannheim's hospital capacity is excellent but primary practices in the Quadrate and Oststadt fill up — register while you are well.
In personWho: You
4
Learn the out-of-hours system
For urgent but non-emergency problems, 116117 is the national medical on-call number and will direct you to an out-of-hours practice. Emergency departments are for emergencies.
Mobile appWho: You
5
Save the state poison centre number
Baden-Württemberg designated the Vergiftungs-Informations-Zentrale at the Freiburg university hospital as its poison information centre under §16e of the Chemicals Act, on 0761 19240. It is at the far end of the state and it is still the right number.
Mobile appWho: You
6
Use the Rhine-Neckar as one health region
The Universitätsmedizin Mannheim and Heidelberg University Hospital are twenty minutes apart on the same rail line, and between them they cover almost every specialty. A referral across that gap is entirely routine — do not restrict your search for a specialist to the city boundary.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Employment contract or proof of income
Meldebescheinigung
Steuer-ID
Passport and residence permit
Bank details for contributions

Things most newcomers don’t know

The poison centre for Baden-Württemberg is in Freiburg, not in the Rhine-Neckar.

Baden-Württemberg designated a single Giftinformationszentrum for the whole state, the VIZ at Freiburg university hospital on 0761 19240. Newcomers reasonably assume a city with its own university hospital has its own poison line and lose minutes looking for one. It does not; put the Freiburg number in your phone.

Source: Vergiftungs-Informations-Zentrale Freiburg

Going private is nearly a one-way door.

Private cover is often cheaper than statutory for a young, healthy, high-earning newcomer, and brokers sell on exactly that comparison. But premiums rise with age, each family member is priced separately rather than covered free, and returning to statutory later is difficult and near-impossible above a certain age.

Source: Bundesministerium für Gesundheit

Statutory cover includes dependants at no extra cost.

A non-working spouse and children are covered under a statutory member's contribution at no additional charge. Under private cover each is a separate premium. For anyone with or planning a family this usually outweighs the headline comparison a broker will show you.

Source: Bundesministerium für Gesundheit

116117 is the number that saves an emergency department visit.

The national medical on-call service handles urgent but non-life-threatening problems out of hours. Germans use it routinely; newcomers default to the emergency department and wait a long time as low priority.

Source: Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung

Common mistakes to avoid

Searching for a Mannheim poison-centre number instead of calling Freiburg on 0761 19240.
Choosing private insurance on the first year's premium without modelling the long run.
Not realising statutory covers dependants free while private does not.
Going to an emergency department for something 116117 would have handled.
Limiting a specialist search to Mannheim when Heidelberg is twenty minutes away.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.