We often hear the French complaining about the quality of their mutual health insurance . In people’s minds, it is often far too expensive for mediocre refunds. However, there is a perfect “trick” to optimize your health budget. This is an additional expense, certainly, but an expense that generates savings! Paradoxical? Not that much!
Complementary health insurance is not mandatory coverage in France. Consequently, many French people are reluctant to subscribe, most often for financial reasons . When it comes to treatment, these people not covered by mutual insurance or health insurance waive treatment because they cannot bear the cost alone.
This is why, to limit the number of people without health coverage, the French government has implemented the generalization of complementary health insurance . The principle is to systematically cover the employees of private companies. A solution which seems advantageous since not only does it guarantee a minimum basket of care (i.e. minimum coverage for all employees) but in addition the contribution is shared between the employee and the employer (minimum 50% for the employer, maximum 50% for the employee).
Faced with this obligation to cover via a collective health mutual, some French people who were already covered individually had to cancel this insurance so as not to pay twice for the same services. Some have therefore given up on better health coverage.
A problem for people who benefited from a complementary adapted to their real health needs and who now feel aggrieved by their company mutual. Fortunately, there is a solution to every problem: and this solution is called “over-complementary”.
The complementary health insurance , sometimes called supermutual, is a contract that complements complementary health insurance. We are talking about the third level of coverage (the first corresponding to the compulsory Social Security scheme, the second to that of mutual health insurance). This complementary health supplement is not compulsory but it can be interesting for a person who considers himself to be poorly protected.
Cons: It’s an extra expense . In the context of subscribing to a mutual insurance company via the company, if the contract is co-financed by the employer and the employee, the supermutual is entirely the responsibility of the subscriber.
Advantages : the very principle of the surmutuelle is to offer better coverage or at least coverage adapted to one’s health needs. We are talking about better coverage in terms of guarantees but also in terms of level of coverage. With a super-mutual, the insured can supplement his initial mutual in a relevant and efficient manner.
Take for example a person who wears glasses or contact lenses. Logically, she will need interesting optical coverage to cover her expenses at an ophthalmologist or an optician. If its initial cover does not offer optical guarantee or a level of guarantee that is too low, it is highly recommended to opt for a supermutual with an effective optical guarantee.
So paradoxical this idea of spending extra money to save money? Ultimately no. Admittedly, a supermutual costs a little money, but at the same time how much does it save?
Without supermutual, the insured saves on the contribution but the day when he requires a care whose price is important (optical, dental, etc.) either he must assume this expensive expense, or he renounces the care. In either case, the insured loses.
While the cost of a supermutuelle is quickly “paid for” by a significant health expense. Not only does the insured not give up treatment, but he also benefits from it with a limited or zero remaining charge.
Finally, a supplementary health insurance is especially interesting to take out for major expenditure items such as optics or dental.