Health Insurance in Germany (Karlsruhe)

Hello Everyone,

I have some questions about German health insurance and was hoping someone could help shine some light on a complex matter.

A little background info about me: I’m a 36 year old dual citizen (Hungarian & American) who is now living in Germany. I arrived in Germany 3 months ago (June 14th). I immediately registered at the Burgercenter (Anmelden) after arriving in Germany. I did not and continue to not have health insurance. I am now going to start studying at a nearby Hochschule to get a Masters on October 1st. My Masters studies will last approximately 2 years and once I graduate, I plan to look for a job here in Germany and continue to live here indefinitely.

My research: I looked into public health insurance and found out that I could get it only on a voluntary basis. The monthly premium, however, would be approximately Protected content per month and not the 80€ that other students who are less than 30 have to pay. This is a lot of money for me and so I am considering to go with private health insurance. A few university websites have said that the Deutsche Studentenwerk has made a general agreement with the UNION Versicherungsdienst and Hanse Merkur Reiseversicherung AG for students who cannot get insurance with a public health fund and that I should get insurance through them. Here’s a link to their website: Protected content

My questions:
1.Does anyone recommend that I get this health insurance? It is only 78 € per month, which is more manageable for me.
2.I’m assuming this is travel health insurance. Is this correct? If it is, would this health insurance plan be sufficient enough for me to not get “back charged” by public health insurance companies once I find a job here in Germany 2 years later? And if I would get “back charged”, would I get back charged for the full 2 years? How much would that be approximately?
3.If I ran the risk of getting back charged, could I leave Germany (unregister) for a week and then come back again as person who has decided to move to Germany for the first time and not get back charged for the past two years of not having sufficient health care coverage?
4.What exactly does this Vela health insurance cover? Does it really cover all the costs of out patient visits?
5.Do I still qualify to get public health insurance on a voluntary basis? I read someplace that since I am over the age of 30, I must apply for public health insurance on a voluntary basis and that I must have had an insurance contract in the past 12 months without any break or in the last 5 years for 24 months. Is this true? Or can I apply for public health insurance on a voluntary basis as a student?

Thanks everyone for your help!