-
France set to pass emergency ‘budget law’: is it good or bad for your finances?
The country will effectively be without a budget from 2025, with knock-on effects for individuals and companies
-
EasyJet announces nine new flight routes from France including to UK
A service from Bordeaux to Birmingham is among the new announcements
-
French weekend weather outlook December 14 - 15: gloomy and chilly in the north
Cloudy skies are expected to dominate in the north, but in the south temperatures will still reach double figures
New Year rise in health insurance
Consumer groups warn 5% average rise in charges will turn people towards 'low-cost' providers offering worse protection
THE PRICE of top-up health insurance will rise by about 5% in the new year as insurers pass on the rising cost of healthcare to customers.
The increase - which will range from 3% to 7% depending on your insurer - comes after the government introduced a tax on mutuelles to help plug a hole in the state social security budget.
More than 90% of people in France are signed up to a mutuelle or complémentaire santé to pay for healthcare costs that are not covered by the social security regime.
Mutualité Française president Jean-Pierre Davant - who represents almost every top-up insurer in France - said in an interview with Le Parisien: "Mutuelles have no choice but to raise their prices because they are facing more and more charges."
The cost of spending a day in hospital is rising from €16 to €18 in January, and the swine flu outbreak has also prompted a rise in healthcare costs.
Consumer group UFC-Que Choisir warns that an increasing number of French people do not have the means to pay for top-up health insurance.
"These days, having a complémentaire santé is indispensable," it said. "We are concerned that more people will turn to 'low-cost' providers with fewer benefits, or worse still they will be unable to get treatment."
According to a research paper published in November, households are spending 50% more on health protection and treatment now than in 2001.
Related story:
How mutuelles work and what is refunded