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Does supplementary health insurance pay for contact lenses?

In short

Does supplementary health insurance pay for contact lenses in Germany? Usually yes: plans with visual aids pay for glasses or contact lenses from one shared budget, often about EUR 150 to 400 every two to three years. Monthly lenses with care products cost around EUR 230 to 400 a year, so the budget only covers part. Public health insurance pays only in exceptional cases, for example from 8 dioptres.

Does supplementary health insurance pay for contact lenses?

What it costs

Public insurance rules from the law and guideline, budgets from published plan overviews, lens prices from a guide with yearly examples.

ExampleTypical range
Budget for visual aids in top-up plansabout EUR 150 to 400 every two to three years
Outpatient top-up with glasses and lenses, age 26about EUR 8 to 15 a month
Monthly lenses per yearabout EUR 180 to 250, plus care products EUR 50 to 150
Daily lenses per yearabout EUR 450 to 480
Toric or special lenses per yearabout EUR 650 to 800
Laser eye surgery in strong plansone off up to about EUR 1,000

As of November 2026.

Lens prices are yearly examples from a broker guide,

budgets and premiums from published plan overviews.

The worked example is a guide value from our quoting practice;

we find the plan that fits your lenses in our quote.

Worked example

Monthly lenses, age 30, plan with EUR 300 over two years

What comes in and what goes out over two years.

Monthly lenses, 2 yearsEUR 400
Care products, 2 yearsEUR 160
Payment from the planEUR 300
Premium EUR 8 to 15 × 24 monthsEUR 192 to 360

The bottom line lies between EUR 108 ahead and EUR 60 behind. The plan only pays off with a low premium and if you use the full budget every time.

What a top-up pays for contact lenses

Outpatient supplementary plans (ambulante Zusatzversicherung) and glasses insurance pay for visual aids (Sehhilfen). Contact lenses are almost always included, because the plans speak of visual aids and mean glasses and lenses alike. The money comes from a fixed budget that starts again after two or three years, in some plans earlier if your prescription changes by at least 0.5 dioptres.

If you buy contact lenses, that budget is used up. New glasses in the same period you usually pay yourself. Whether care products, coloured lenses or lenses without prescription count is in the terms of each plan.

Plan levelPayment for visual aidsPeriod
Basic plan80 percent up to about EUR 155every 36 months or with a new prescription
Medium plan100 percent up to about EUR 175every 24 months
Strong plan100 percent up to about EUR 330every 36 months or with a new prescription
Glasses budgets of other plansabout EUR 200 to 375usually every 24 months

When public health insurance pays for contact lenses

Under § 33 of Social Code Book V (SGB V), contact lenses are paid by the fund only in medically compelling exceptional cases. The Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) defines them, including short or long sight from 8 dioptres, a difference of at least 2 dioptres between the eyes, keratoconus and certain forms of astigmatism.

The standard supply is hard, rigid lenses. Daily lenses, coloured lenses and care products are not paid. If you are entitled to funded glasses and prefer lenses, you get at most the amount the glasses would have cost.

What contact lenses cost a year

Monthly lenses cost about EUR 180 to 250 a year, plus care products for around EUR 50 to 150. Daily lenses need no care but come to about EUR 450 a year. Toric lenses for astigmatism cost around EUR 650, special lenses for keratoconus about EUR 800.

Compared with that, a budget of EUR 300 over two years looks small. With monthly lenses and care it covers about 9 to 15 of the 24 months, with daily lenses around 8 months.

When the plan adds up and when it does not

A visual aids plan adds up if the premium is clearly below the budget and you are sure to use the full budget every time. For lens wearers that is almost always the case, for glasses wearers who rarely change not.

You do not need it if you only wear lenses now and then, or if your employer or fund pays a subsidy. If you plan laser eye surgery anyway, look for a plan that pays a one off amount for it, often up to about EUR 1,000 after a waiting period.

What newcomers to Germany should check

The health questions cover eye conditions treated anywhere, not only in Germany. List them in full, otherwise the insurer can withdraw from the contract later and refuse payment.

Plans with waiting periods count from the start of the contract. If you are about to buy new lenses, sign up first and buy after the waiting period.

Step by step

  1. Add up your lens costs for two years, including care products.
  2. Ask your eye doctor whether you qualify for an exception with the fund, for example from 8 dioptres or with keratoconus.
  3. Compare budget, period and premium of several plans.
  4. Check whether care products and lenses bought online are reimbursed.
  5. Submit invoices together as soon as the budget is free again.

Checklist

  • Contact lenses named explicitly as a visual aid
  • Budget of at least EUR 300 over two years
  • New budget also when your prescription changes
  • Premium over two years clearly below the budget
  • Waiting period known so you can plan the purchase

Common mistakes

  • Buying lenses and glasses in the same period and getting nothing for one of them
  • Taking out an expensive outpatient plan just for the lenses
  • Not checking whether the fund pays with a strong prescription
  • Assuming care products are always covered

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Does the top-up also pay for daily lenses?

If the plan pays for visual aids in general, usually yes, but only up to the budget.

At around EUR 450 a year it is used up quickly.

Does public insurance pay for lenses with astigmatism?

Only for certain forms, such as irregular astigmatism,

or regular astigmatism from 2 or 3 dioptres depending on the axis.

What counts is the eye doctor's prescription.

Does public insurance pay for lens care products?

No.

§ 33 SGB V excludes them explicitly, even when the lenses themselves are paid.

Can I get glasses and contact lenses reimbursed at the same time?

Usually only from the same budget.

If you need both, choose a plan with a higher budget or spread the purchases over two periods.

Is the insurance worth it for children with contact lenses?

Some plans pay a lower budget for children.

First check whether an exception for the fund applies, then do the maths with the child premium.

Sources

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