On January 25, the Ministry of Health welcomed the results of the “100% health” reform. According to the report drawn up by the follow-up committee, the “zero charge rest” has been a great success in audiology and in the dental sector, less so in optics.
- The “100% health” reform, which is accessible to all French people who have signed up to a responsible complementary health contract, allows them to equip themselves with glasses, dental and hearing aids without any additional costs.
- In 2021, 55% of sales of dental prostheses, 39% of hearing aids and 17% of glasses were fully covered by health insurance and complementary health insurance.
“More than 10 million French people have already benefited from the 100% health system, a major social reform of the five-year period”. This is what Olivier Véran wrote on Twitter, this January 25, after the publication of a balance sheet of the “rest at zero charge”. As a reminder, the “100% health” reform, which came into force gradually between 2019 and 2021, fights against the renunciation of care. Thanks to this device, the French can see their glasses, their dental care and their hearing aids being fully covered by health insurance and their complementary health.
According to press release from the Ministry of Healththis reform “has achieved its objectives and constitutes an important step forward in the French social protection system by facilitating access for all to daily health products”. In 2021, policyholders made more use of the services and equipment offered in the “100% health” basket. Result: the number of equipment sold and care provided has increased in less than two years.
Success in audiology and the dental sector
Based on available data, this reimbursement option has been successful in audiology. And for good reason, the number of patients equipped with a hearing aid increased by 77% between 2019 and 2021. “39% of the equipment purchased falls under the offer 100% reimbursed on average between January and November 2021”, can we read in the press release. The Ministry of Health said that nearly 800,000 100% healthy hearing aids have been issued since the start of the reform.
On the dental side, an increase in the use of the “100% health” reform was also observed. In 2021, 55% of dental prostheses were part of the offer. Since 2019, 6 million French people have benefited from the reform for dental care.
A lesser impact of the “zero charge rest” among opticians
According to the latest review of the reform, there seems to be resistance from the French in optics. In 2021, “100% health” represents 17% of sales among opticians, “an increase compared to 2020, in a sector where the rate of renunciation of care before the reform was lower”. Asked by 20 minutesMarianick Lambert, member of the office of the organization France Assos Santé, explained that the optics were “a market in which there was already zero-charged rest by complementary health insurance”.
The Ministry of Health wishes to consolidate the success of the 100% health reform. To do this, it intends to implement control campaigns to ensure that practitioners offer the offer and enable policyholders to benefit from it. “In the event of a breach, Health Insurance will be able to pronounce sanctions this year, if necessary”he adds.
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