From 1 January 2027 you pay more yourself for prescriptions, hospital stays and dentures. This is set out in the GKV-Beitragssatzstabilisierungsgesetz (law to stabilise statutory health insurance contribution rates), published in the Federal Law Gazette on 29 July 2026. The changes apply equally at all statutory health insurers.
Co-payments from 2027: For medicines you still pay 10% of the price, but at least €7.50 instead of €5 and at most €15 instead of €10 – never more than the medicine costs. In hospital it is €15 instead of €10 per day, still for a maximum of 28 days a year. For therapeutic treatments such as physiotherapy and for home nursing care you pay 10% of the costs plus €15 instead of €10 per prescription. Medical aids are also €7.50 to €15 from 2027; for consumable aids such as incontinence products, the monthly cap has already been €15 instead of €10 since 30 July 2026.
What this means in euros: A medicine costing €30 will cost you €7.50 instead of €5 from January – 10% would be only €3, so the minimum applies. For a medicine costing €200 it is €15 instead of €10.
Dentures: Your health insurer's fixed subsidy (Festzuschuss) falls from 60% to 50% of the standard care. With a dental bonus booklet you get 60% instead of 70% after five years and 65% instead of 75% after ten years. You pay the rest yourself or through supplementary dental insurance. A newly taken out supplementary dental insurance usually does not pay for treatment that is already planned or has already been recommended.
Tip: get your treatment and cost plan approved in 2026. Fixed subsidies that your health insurer approves before 1 January 2027 are paid at the old rates. What counts is the insurer's approval, not the treatment date. If you need dentures, have your dentist draw up the treatment and cost plan (Heil- und Kostenplan) in good time and submit it to your insurer. Important: an approved plan is usually valid for six months. The dentures must be fitted by then; otherwise you need to apply for an extension in time.
There is a cap: The co-payment limit stays the same. You never have to pay more than 2% of your household's annual gross income in co-payments, or 1% if you are chronically ill. It pays to keep your receipts – calculate your limit. Co-payments are the same at every insurer – you can save on the additional contribution. Benefits differ, so compare contributions and benefits.
Source: GKV-Beitragssatzstabilisierungsgesetz, BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 228 (Article 1 No. 22 and 23, in force from 1 Jan 2027) · co-payment limit under § 62 SGB V · § 33 SGB V (medical aids) · six-month period: Annex 2 to the Bundesmantelvertrag Zahnärzte · own calculation