Health insurance in France: See average mutuelle cost for retirees after new rises

The cost of mutuelle top-up health insurance has been rising steadily for several years in France and 2025 is no exception. Here is why retirees bear the brunt of the increased cost. 

Top-up health insurance is not obligatory in France, but most people (more than 90%) have some form of it to cover the costs that remain for patients after reimbursement by the social security system.

The price of this cover increased on average by 4.7% in 2023, 8.1% in 2024 and a further 6% in 2025.

For many people of working age, a top-up insurance deal is provided through their employer, which is usually negotiated at an advantageous price and deducted from their gross pay.

However, for retired people the costs are higher.

The average price of cover for over-75s in 2025 is €173 a month (€2,076 a year), and €136 a month on average for retirees. 

This compares to a cost of €35 for people aged 16-25, according to data from mutuelle price comparison website Mutuelle.fr. 

Read more: How to save money on mutuelle cover in France

This stark difference is due to the particular needs of older individuals in terms of medical treatment and follow-up.

These needs include coverage for:

• More frequent medical visits and hospitalisation 

• A greater reliance on medical transport (this is only 55% state-reimbursed)

• The cost of prostheses (60% state-reimbursed)

• Glasses (60% state-reimbursed on certain lenses and frames)

Note that illnesses categorised as ALD (affection de longue durée) or, long-term, are 100% reimbursed.

Due to the greater take-up of mutuelles among older people - along with France’s aging population - the 2025 price increases have pushed the average price of health top-ups to over €100 a month. 

The rise could see retirees pay on average as much as €250 more over the year, according to health economist Frédéric Bizard.

“Their mutual insurance already costs three times more because of their age,” Mr Bizard told La Dépêche, adding that the rise would see many opt for cheaper contracts with less comprehensive cover.

Read more: Top-up health insurance increasingly expensive for over-60s in France

‘System needs reform’

The year-on-year rise in the mutuelle price is due to the increased cost of seeing a doctor, lower reimbursement rates for hospital transport and the wider problem of the social security deficit forcing the state to rely on the private sector, says the president of la Mutualité Française, France’s federation of mutuelles, Eric Chenut.

“Healthcare spending is increasing two to three times faster than national wealth,” he said in a press release. “With our aging population and scientific advances, and without a structural overhaul, these costs will continue to rise until we can no longer cope.”

Help for retirees and others on low incomes

France does offer state help for people on low incomes to purchase top-up insurance.

Retirees, jobseekers or others on low incomes can benefit from state-subsidised mutuelle, La Complémentaire Santé Solidaire, which limits the cost of top-up insurance to: