04 April 2013

Commercial Risk Europe: Freedom of choice a concern as France adopts mandatory health insurance

French companies fear a new law set to make complementary health insurance mandatory for all employees in the private sector could restrict their freedom to choose insurers for the provision, the country's risk management association AMRAE told Commercial Risk Europe.

An obligation for all companies, no matter their size, to provide complementary health insurance to their workers is part of a much debated jobs bill that the French government is pushing through parliament.

An agreement between the parties involved was reached in January, and in early March the bill was presented to the Council of Ministers, France's highest executive body.

But according to AMRAE the obligation to provide insurance coverage to complement the public health services offered by the French state is not something that causes much concern for its members.

According to Mr Lucas the only real source of concern for large companies resulting from the jobs bill is a recently added clause that could force buyers of collective health insurance to purchase coverage from specific providers, the so-called Institutes de Prévoyance, that are often controlled by unions.

The controversial proposal has caused much discussion among insurers and brokers who fear exclusion from the market. But opponents to the restrictions received a boost at the end of March when Autorité de la Concurrence, France's competition watchdog, released a note supporting the right of employers to choose their providers of collective health insurance.

For buyers of insurance the new rules will mean thousands of SMEs that currently do not offer complementary health insurance to their workers will have to start providing coverage. As a result of the bill, 3 to 4 million new workers will receive some kind of additional, private-based coverage with the help of their employers. The plan is that workers will pay half the cost of cover, with employers meeting the remainder of the fee.

The fact that millions of new workers will be added to the market in one hit does not raise any capacity fears for AMRAE members, Mr Lucas said. "We are not afraid of a possible lack of coverage, but we do not like the idea of not being able to make a choice about our providers", he said. "If there is no migration clause we will be able to continue to work with our brokers and to manage the risk".

 

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