Technical article

What Public Health Cover Costs in Germany and Cyprus, and What Is Missing for Greece and the Netherlands

The first question was the monthly cost of health cover.

By Neil Solomon · 5 min read

Picture a couple named Walt and Carol. Both are 66. They are retiring with a pension and some interest income, and they have narrowed the list to Germany, the Netherlands, Cyprus and Greece. The first question was the monthly cost of health cover. The second was whether they could join the public system at all.

I looked for official answers on both. Germany, Cyprus and the Netherlands give figures on cost. On who may join, the pages say less. Here is what each page said.

What I found

Germany

The Federal Ministry of Health says: "Der gesetzlich festgeschriebene allgemeine Beitragssatz beträgt 14,6 Prozent der beitragspflichtigen Einnahmen." That is the general rate. On top of it, "Für das Jahr 2026 beträgt der durchschnittliche Zusatzbeitragssatz 2,9 Prozent." Each fund sets its own extra rate, so this is an average.

Together that is 17.5 percent (my arithmetic). The page says employees or pensioners and their employers or pension insurers each pay half. So a pensioner in the system would pay about 8.75 percent on average (my arithmetic, and only for pension income that counts).

The Ministry's page on who is insured says pensioners are compulsorily insured "sofern bestimmte Vorversicherungszeiten erfüllt sind" (if certain prior insurance periods are met). It does not say whether a retiree who arrives from the United States meets that test or takes private cover.

Cyprus

The Health Insurance Organisation lists the contributions for its General Healthcare System. Pensioners pay 1.70 percent in the first phase and 2.65 percent from 1 March 2020. People with income from rent, interest or dividends also pay 2.65 percent. Employees pay 2.65 percent and the self-employed 4.00 percent. The page sets a cap of EUR 180,000 of yearly earnings per person. At the cap, 2.65 percent comes to EUR 4,770 a year (my arithmetic).

The eligibility page says people from outside the EU must live in the areas controlled by the Republic of Cyprus, and their criteria are similar to those for EU citizens. It does not say whether a pensioner from abroad is covered. The Health Insurance Organisation's financing page (read 11 October 2026) still lists 2.65 percent for pensioners and the EUR 180,000 cap. It adds that a person who is not a tax resident of Cyprus pays contributions only on income, earnings and pensions that come from the Republic of Cyprus, not on dividends and interest.

The Netherlands

The government says: "Everyone who lives or works in the Netherlands must take out basic health insurance." A second page, on residence permits, says: "You must take out Dutch health insurance within four months of your permanent residence permit coming into force." It adds that the policy must start on the day the permit takes effect. If cover starts later, the page says the back premium is owed.

Neither of those two pages gave a premium or deductible in euros. Two other pages from the Dutch government do. On premiums it says: "Dit is gemiddeld € 157 per maand" (this is on average EUR 157 a month) for 2026, which is EUR 1,884 a year. The page does not clearly limit that figure to basic insurance, and it says premiums vary by insurer and policy. On the deductible it says: "Het verplichte eigen risico voor 2026 is € 385." Both pages were last modified on 28 July 2026.

Greece

The page from the Hellenic national contact point covers EU citizens only. For a retiree from outside the EU, the Attica regional office's document list for the residence permit of a financially independent person asks for an "insurance policy by a private insurance company" and proof of at least EUR 2,000 a month (read 11 October 2026). So the route for that permit goes through a private policy, not a contribution to the public system. The page does not give the amount of cover required.

What is left open

• Whether a newcomer over 65 from the United States may join the public system in Germany or Cyprus. Cyprus says that paying contributions does not make a person a beneficiary, and that beneficiaries are set by article 16 of the law.
• Whether the EUR 157 average applies to basic cover alone, and what an insurer would quote for a person aged 66.