Owners and Employees
A pharmacist who owns a pharmacy is self-employed and can choose PKV from the start. An employed pharmacist working in someone else’s pharmacy switches once their salary passes the annual income threshold. Ownership makes the route to PKV immediate; employment makes it a threshold question.
The Professional Pension Context
Pharmacists belong to a professional pension scheme (Apothekerversorgung) rather than the statutory pension. As with other chambered professions, that is separate from health insurance but underlines that a pharmacist’s provision sits largely outside the standard employee framework. Your health cover is decided on your income route and your medical history.
For a pharmacy owner: PKV is available immediately, and a daily sickness benefit matters, since a period of illness affects both your income and the running of the pharmacy. Plan the two together.
What to Weigh
- Owner free choice: self-employment opens PKV from day one.
- Employed threshold: employed pharmacists switch above the income threshold.
- Income protection: a realistic daily sickness benefit for the self-employed.
- Long-term premium: plan for retirement premiums and consider a relief tariff.
An employed pharmacist near the threshold should have the switch modelled against staying in GKV, since the decision is long-term and depends on health as much as on income.
Frequently Asked Questions
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