DAK-Gesundheit: additional rate and monthly contribution
DAK-Gesundheit charges 3.20 %; an employee on €3,800 gross pays €407 a month, students €146.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Your contribution at DAK-Gesundheit, 2026
€407
a month · additional rate 3.20 %
| Contributory income | €3,800 |
|---|---|
| Health insurance (14.6 % + 3.20 %), your share | €338 |
| of which DAK-Gesundheit additional rate | €61 |
| Long-term care | €68 |
| You pay a month | €407 |
| Employer adds | €407 |
| A year (your share) | €4,879 |
Cheapest fund open in North Rhine-Westphalia: BKK firmus (2.18 %). You would pay €233 less a year. Rank 15 of 53.
Chosen today: new fund from 1 January 2027, provided you have been a member for at least twelve months.
Step-by-step calculation
- Income €3,800 → contributory €3,800 (ceiling 2026: €5,813 a month).
- Health: 14.6 % general or reduced rate plus 3.20 % DAK-Gesundheit additional rate, split half and half with the employer.
- Care: 3.6 %.
Estimate under Books V and XI of the Social Code. Your fund’s or employer’s calculation is binding. How we calculate
All 53 funds you can join in North Rhine-Westphalia, in euros
| # | Fund | Add. rate | You pay/month | vs today/year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BKK firmus · regional | 2.18 % | €387 | −€233 |
| 2 | BKK Public · regional | 2.50 % | €393 | −€160 |
| 2 | TUI BKK | 2.50 % | €393 | −€160 |
| 4 | hkk | 2.59 % | €395 | −€139 |
| 5 | Audi BKK | 2.60 % | €395 | −€137 |
| 6 | Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) | 2.69 % | €397 | −€116 |
| 7 | WMF BKK | 2.85 % | €400 | −€80 |
| 8 | HEK | 2.89 % | €401 | −€71 |
Minus = you pay less a year than at DAK-Gesundheit. Company funds open only to their own staff are left out.
The GKV-Spitzenverband fund list gives DAK-Gesundheit an additional contribution (Zusatzbeitrag) of 3.20 %. An employee insured there pays half of 17.8 % of gross pay for health insurance and half of 3.6 % for long-term care insurance; the employer pays the rest. On €3,800 gross with one child that adds up to €407 a month. Students pay €146 however much they earn on the side, because the law ties their contribution to the BAföG need rate. Compared with the official average rate of 2.9 %, DAK costs €68 a year more at €3,800; compared with BKK firmus, the cheapest fund open to everyone, €233 more. It ranks 25 of 71. Like every substitute fund (Ersatzkasse), it accepts members from all states, and moving house simply leaves the membership in place.
DAK-Gesundheit next to TK, BARMER and KKH
All four funds in the table are substitute funds open nationwide, so any employee can join, whether in Kiel or Konstanz. The gap between them comes only from the additional rate, because the general rate of 14.6 % and care insurance are the same everywhere. For DAK-Gesundheit, 3.20 % means that 24 of the 71 open funds are cheaper. The comparison matters most to higher earners, since the gap grows with pay up to the ceiling of €5,812.50; there you pay €622 a month at DAK.
| Fund | Additional rate | You pay a month | vs DAK a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Techniker Krankenkasse (TK) | 2.69 % | €397 | −€116 |
| DAK-Gesundheit | 3.20 % | €407 | · |
| BARMER | 3.29 % | €408 | +€21 |
| KKH | 3.78 % | €418 | +€132 |
Students, pensioners, the self-employed: DAK cost by group
| Group | Base | Contribution a month |
|---|---|---|
| Student under 23 | €855 | €146 |
| Student, childless, 23+ | €855 | €151 |
| Employee | €2,500 | €268 |
| Employee | €3,800 | €407 |
| Pensioner | €1,600 | €200 |
| Self-employed with sick pay | €3,000 | €642 |
Students pay on the same statutory amount at every fund; what sets DAK apart for them is only the additional rate on €855, a few euros a year. Student cover usually ends with the semester in which you turn 30 (section 190(9) SGB V), after which the fund charges as voluntary insurance with a minimum contribution (student contributions).
Leaving DAK or joining it
Either way you only send a membership application to the fund you want to join. Dates depend on the month of your application, not the day (work out the date). If you are with DAK and thinking about a switch in the autumn, you can also wait for the rate the fund sets for the new year: if it rises, the twelve-month lock-in falls away and you may switch until the end of the month the higher rate starts. If it stays the same, compare it with the other funds’ new rates, which appear in the official list only from January. Family members covered free of charge move with the member automatically.