Why take out additional health insurance?

Why take out additional health insurance?
Out-of-pocket expenses on medications, excess fees, hospital lump sum ... Today, health insurance coverage is no longer sufficient to be well reimbursed. This is why the vast majority of French people have taken out complementary health insurance. Are you still hesitating? Here's what you need to know to make the right choice.

Today, 96% of French people have taken out complementary health insurance (1). This is a strong trend, encouraged by the public authorities, which in particular oblige employees to cover themselves. Entered into force in 2016, the national inter-professional agreement (ANI) generalized complementary company health and extended the portability of rights for the unemployed.

Taking out additional health insurance is not necessarily compulsory depending on your situation, but it is strongly recommended. These days, compulsory health insurance coverage, the first level of reimbursement, is often not sufficient. It can leave you with large sums of money to pay out of pocket to finance your health and cause you to forgo certain treatments because of the cost. These complementary health contracts, which represent a second level of reimbursement, have become essential to obtain better reimbursements of your health costs. In addition, certain significant health expenses, such as unforeseen hospitalization due to an accident, cannot be anticipated. Knowing that you have sufficient health coverage for you and your family also gives you peace of mind on a daily basis ...
Health insurance to reduce your out-of-pocket expenses
Compulsory health insurance (social security) often only reimburses part of consultations, drugs, medical devices ... Certain items, such as dental, optics, excess fees or alternative medicine are only very partially or not at all supported. Health insurance also does not reimburse deductibles and lump sum contributions, such as the hospital lump sum. In conclusion, without complementary health insurance, the remaining costs of your medical expenses can be significant. Thus, each year, 10% of policyholders are exposed to out-of-pocket expenses exceeding 2,000 euros and 1% to out-of-pocket expenses exceeding 5,000 euros (2). Among these health expenses which are the responsibility of the insured, we find excess fees for health professionals, stays in care establishments, expenses related to dental care (dental care, surgical acts, orthodontics and imaging, purchase of prostheses, etc.), optics (frames, lenses, etc.) and hearing aids.
 
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A mutual health insurance to benefit from additional services
Complementary health insurance supplements the reimbursements of compulsory health insurance, but that's not all! They can also cover items that Health Insurance does not reimburse at all. For example alternative medicine, with sessions of osteopathy, chiropractic, acupuncture, hypnosis, homeopathy, thermal cures ... Optical costs: lenses, myopia operation ... Comfort services such as supplements for single rooms during a stay in a health establishment.

These contracts can also include services related to prevention or well-being: vaccines, sports subscription, personalized support (nutrition or sports coaching), home help after hospitalization, etc.
On what criteria should you choose your mutual health insurance?
The key is to choose a contract that meets your needs as closely as possible, while not having to contribute to expenses that you will not need.

The first step is to define your needs for the year or years to come. Take into account your state of health and that of all the people your contract must cover: spouses, children ... Ask yourself a few basic questions to anticipate your future expenses as much as possible. How often do you consult doctors and do they exceed fees not covered by health insurance? If you wear glasses, do you think about changing them soon? Are you going to choose "100% Health" optical equipment fully covered by Health Insurance or would you prefer to choose another? Do you have expensive dental work in progress?