Before you start

Employment contract or proof of income
Meldebescheinigung from your Anmeldung
Steuer-ID
A German bank account for contributions

Step-by-step

1
Understand the two systems before choosing
Statutory charges a percentage of income up to a ceiling, covers dependants at no extra cost, and allows free switching between funds. Private prices on age and health at entry, charges per person, and rises with age.
OnlineWho: YouFirst month
2
Choose statutory if eligible and unsure
Statutory funds differ modestly in supplementary rate and extras, and switching between them is easy. Starting statutory keeps the option open; the reverse move generally does not exist.
OnlineWho: You
3
Register with a Hausarzt in your first fortnight
Your GP is the practical entry point to specialist care. Bremen's practices are less oversubscribed than Hamburg's but the northern districts and Bremen-Nord are thinner on capacity than the centre — register while you are well.
In personWho: You
4
Learn the out-of-hours system
For urgent but non-emergency problems, 116117 is the national medical on-call number and will direct you to an out-of-hours practice. Emergency departments are for emergencies.
Mobile appWho: You
5
Save the poison centre number now
The Giftinformationszentrum-Nord in Göttingen covers Bremen along with Hamburg, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein, on 0551 19240. It is not a Bremen number and it is not in this state — which is exactly why nobody has it when they need it.
Mobile appWho: You
6
Check what your employer's fund offers
The large Bremen employers work with particular statutory funds and some run occupational health schemes on top. It changes nothing legally — you may join any fund — but it can shorten the paperwork in your first weeks.
Via employerWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Employment contract or proof of income
Meldebescheinigung
Steuer-ID
Passport and residence permit
Bank details for contributions

Things most newcomers don’t know

Going private is nearly a one-way door.

Private cover is often cheaper than statutory for a young, healthy, high-earning newcomer, and brokers sell on exactly that comparison. But premiums rise with age, each family member is priced separately rather than covered free, and returning to statutory later is difficult and near-impossible above a certain age.

Source: Bundesministerium für Gesundheit

Statutory cover includes dependants at no extra cost.

A non-working spouse and children are covered under a statutory member's contribution at no additional charge. Under private cover each is a separate premium. For anyone with or planning a family this usually outweighs the headline comparison a broker will show you.

Source: Bundesministerium für Gesundheit

116117 is the number that saves an emergency department visit.

The national medical on-call service handles urgent but non-life-threatening problems out of hours. Germans use it routinely; newcomers default to the emergency department and wait a long time as low priority.

Source: Kassenärztliche Bundesvereinigung

The poison centre for Bremen is in Lower Saxony, not in Bremen.

Four northern states share one Giftinformationszentrum, GIZ-Nord in Göttingen, on 0551 19240. Every other big German city points at a centre inside its own state, so the reflex to search for a local number produces nothing. Put it in your phone on day one, especially if you have small children.

Source: Giftinformationszentrum-Nord

Common mistakes to avoid

Choosing private insurance on the first year's premium without modelling the long run.
Not realising statutory covers dependants free while private does not.
Going to an emergency department for something 116117 would have handled.
Searching for a Bremen poison-centre number that does not exist and losing minutes.
Leaving GP registration until you are ill, especially in Bremen-Nord.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.