The French health system relies on Assurance Maladie, a compulsory single-rate scheme. However, Social Security does not reimburse all of the expenses of the insured, who must then subscribe to complementary health insurance. But, before choosing it, it can be useful to better understand this system…
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In France, nearly 500 organizations offer additional health insurance coverage and only 5% of French people do not contribute to no health insurance, proof of the importance attached in our country to this type of service. However, you should know that the contributions made to mutual insurance companies can vary greatly from one contract to another. So, how to find it?
What is a complementary health insurance used for?
The role of a mutual health is to complete the reimbursements covered by the Social Security. It is advantageous for mitigating expenses or even covering all the medical costs incurred. Complementary health insurance allows you to be better reimbursed for the care provided. Some of them are sometimes not at all from Health Insurance, like consultations for alternative medicine (osteopathy, acupuncture, dietetic…), private rooms during a hospital stay, certain contact lenses or refractive surgery.
Joining a mutual insurance also means that you do not have to advance the costs for health expenses. The health professional is therefore directly reimbursed by the various organizations without the patient being forced to pay the amount that will be covered. Please note, this is not always valid and the reimbursement depends above all on the guarantees provided for in the contract taken out by the insured.
What factors should be taken into account when choosing a mutual health insurance contract?
Before opting for a contract for the benefit of another, it is essential to take stock of your needs concerning his health. Depending on each person’s situation, they can turn out to be considerably different, with age and state of health being unequal factors. Thus, wearing glasses, the need to dental care or even the obligation to consult a specialist are expenses to be taken into account in the choice of guarantees offered in the contract and adapted to the insured.
Conversely, it is obviously inappropriate to move towards a contract that covers unjustified care such as the reimbursement ofhearing aids if the beneficiary does not need it.
Thus, it is the different guarantees taken out that generate price variations in the contracts. This point is to be taken into consideration because the price can vary from simple to triple!
How to decide on a particular contract?
To help policyholders decide on the choice of contract best suited to their situation, there are mutual insurance comparators. After having selected the criteria inherent to the people to be taken care of, the latter are able to propose a selection of health organizations according to the coverage wishes expressed (economic formula, budget formula, comfort formula, etc.). Indeed, this tool can prove to be a valuable aid in a market where the plethoric offer of contracts is sometimes difficult to decipher.
The study of mutual insurance contracts can be time-consuming, so it may be interesting to dwell on certain levels of guarantee, knowing that the most covering are also the most expensive. Expensive acts or equipment that some people can hardly do without can thus be the subject of special attention when choosing a mutual. It is also interesting to find out about the deadline for reimbursements and any shortcomings that can be applied by complementary health insurance.
Finally, do not hesitate to ask for several quotes to be able to decide more easily!
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