Outcry from one of the heavyweights of mutual insurance companies in France. The president of the mutualist group Vyv, Stéphane Junique, was sceptical about Gabriel Attal’s proposal for a mutual health insurance at 1 euro per day, for people who are currently not covered, believing that it risked increasing the price of supplementary health insurance for the rest of the population.
« We are available » political actors « who want to progress and find avenues ” To answer to the ” holes in the racket » of complementary health coverage, indicated Stéphane Junique, president of the Vyv group, which with its mutual insurance companies MGEN and Harmonie, is the main player in the sector.
Fear of excess constraint
« But we must not put in place systems that would bring other constraints, or other difficulties “, he added.
« I cannot explain to our members that for a certain number of people, access to mutual insurance will be easier, while the cost of contributions will be even greater for existing members. “, also indicated Stéphane Junique.
« There are collateral effects that are not measured “, he added, specifying that “ our door was open » to discuss this project.
The 1 euro mutual: an extension of an already existing social system
According to the president of the Vyv mutual, the proposal of the current Prime Minister is similar, based on the information available, to an extension of the CSS. This is the complementary health insurance offered by Social Security for the lowest-income French people (earning less than 10,166 euros per year, for a single person). However, CSS is financed by complementary health insurance customers via a tax (TSA) based on their contributions, recalled Stéphane Junique.
Legislative: mutual health insurance companies warn of “the exclusion of the most vulnerable” in the event of a victory for the far right
As an alternative to the 1 euro mutual, defended by experts and bosses in the sector, a supplementary health contract could be planned that is narrower in its coverage, than the current reference contract (known as “ responsible and supportive “), and which could therefore be billed less.
« The problem is that for 20 years we have ensured that this responsible contract becomes thicker in the obligations we put into it, and which sometimes did not concern essential care. », lamented Stéphane Junique.
Soaring mutual insurance prices
Gabriel Attal’s proposal comes in the context of a sharp increase in the price of health insurance in recent years, with a particularly high increase in contributions in 2024 of 8.1% on average, according to a survey by the Mutualité française. So thatIn total, supplementary health insurance expenditure should therefore increase by 1.5 billion euros in 2024, out of a global budget of around thirty billion euros.
Mutual insurance contributions will soar in 2024
Why such an increase? “ Health spending was extremely dynamic in 2023 », Explained last December Eric Chenut, the president of Mutualité française, before adding that “ the increase was +6%, whereas we expected +3 or +4% ».
According to the French Mutualité survey, this development is also fueled by the increase in salaries and prices of caregivers and a reduction in reimbursement of dental care by Social Security. And the bill can be particularly heavy for retirees, who are more consumers of care, even though they no longer benefit from the support of their employer to pay for their supplementary health insurance.
Mutualité française speaks out against the far right
Wednesday June 12, the Mutualité française took to the front against the far-right. “ Social proposals based on a principle of preference or national priority, inspired by the extreme right, are incompatible with the republican values of equality and fraternity. », lamented the organization.
And to add: “ Because we are mobilized to guarantee access to care and social cohesion, we call for democratic mobilization » for in particular “ defend Social Security and ensure its financing ».
In this communication, the French Mutualité also takes the opportunity to “ challenge the financialization of the health system and medico-social sectors “. And calls for “ guarantee everyone quality access to public services, in favor of access to care and support for situations of vulnerability ».
(With AFP)
