How to choose the best health supplement?
The important points for choosing a mutual health insurance are:
– identification of needs
– anticipating needs
– verification of reimbursements
– the calculation of the contribution/expense ratio
Identification of needs
Identifying your needs allows you to identify your expenditure items. By identifying your expenditure items, you will be able to obtain a sufficient level of guarantee. For example, if you do not have specific dental problems, you do not need to take out high guarantees, a minimum cover will be sufficient.
On the other hand, if you have high needs such as the placement of dental implants, it is better to choose a Complementary Health with appropriate guarantees. Indeed, dental implants are not covered by health insurance and therefore not reimbursed. To be able to benefit from a refund and thus reduce your remaining costs, it is important to take out appropriate mutual insurance.
Anticipation of needs
It is not possible to identify all his needs. Indeed, an accident or a fall is difficult to anticipate, which is why a mutual with basic guarantees always has fairly broad coverage.
When we talk about anticipating needs, we think more of an operation, dental work or even a spa treatment. If you have an operation planned, you may want to benefit from a private room.
This type of guarantee is not generally present in a basic supplement, which is why it is important to anticipate in order to take out a suitable product.
Check the amount of your remaining charge
Analyzing your out-of-pocket account will allow you to check whether your guarantees are appropriate. Indeed, the services between different practitioners can vary from one to two depending on several factors (location, reputation, establishments, level of agreement, etc.).
The first thing to identify is your practitioner’s convention area. If it is contracted for sector 1, minimum guarantees are sufficient. If it is under sector 2 agreement, the reimbursement of the Health Insurance will be less important and thus, to avoid you having to pay too much, you will have to take out higher guarantees.
In a second step, do not hesitate to contact other practitioners to check if the prices are not too high. If this is the case, you can very well change practitioners if you wish.
Calculate the expenses/contributions ratio
Once your recurring expense items have been identified, you need to check how much your contributions cost you compared to your expenses. If the amount of your contributions is higher than your expenses, this means that your health insurance is not suitable.
In this case, two solutions are available to you: change your practitioners in order to reduce your costs;
take out mutual insurance with greater coverage.
What are the important points to check beforehand?
The waiting period
The waiting period (internship/waiting period) is a period which begins to run at the time of subscription. This delay may be imposed by mutuals on certain generally expensive items such as dental.
This is a period during which you will contribute but will not be able to claim reimbursement for your care. Thus, if you have planned major dental work, you may have to wait several months to be able to start your treatment.
So be sure to ask at the time of subscription if there is this type of period.
Lifetime guarantee
The life guarantee is a special senior guarantee. Indeed, at any time if an insured has much higher expenses in relation to his contributions, the insured can decide to write him off. A product with a lifetime guarantee protects the insured by allowing him to remain affiliated with his mutual insurance company.
100% Health
100% Health is a 2020 reform intended to promote access to optical, dental and hearing equipment.
Thanks to this reform, three reimbursement baskets are now in place:
– the 100% healthy basket
– the basket at controlled prices
– the basket with free prices
The 100% health basket allows you to benefit from certain equipment without any additional costs. Please note that not all equipment and materials fit into this basket.
Health Insurance has also set up PLV (sale limit ceiling). These ceilings are intended to limit the (sometimes excessive) prices charged by dental surgeons. POS displays are part of the basket with controlled prices allowing the rest to be paid for to be limited.
The basket with free tariffs, as its name suggests, is a basket without limits, that is to say that the tariffs can quickly go up. They contain the most high-end equipment with the most precious materials.
If you only have basic needs for optical, dental and auditory items, you can very well consider taking only 100% Health. In these cases, do not forget to take out a contract benefiting from 100% Health.
Which healthcare provider should you choose to take out complementary insurance?
There are several players with whom you can take out complementary health insurance, such as comparators, bancassurances or even brokers.
Each has its advantages, it all depends on the support you want to have. When you are a senior, needs increase and it is not always easy to identify your needs.
If you feel comfortable, you can go through a comparator, this will first allow you to have an idea of the rates charged and to see the guarantees that you could have according to your budget.
If you need to be accompanied, you can contact a broker or a bank insurance. The disadvantage of going through a bank is that you will necessarily be offered a product sold by the bank in question, which will not necessarily correspond to the best guarantees/price.
By going through a broker, you can be advised at best and benefit from the best health insurance for you. Indeed, a broker has a duty to advise, that is to say, he has the obligation to advise you as well as possible. Being in contact with insurers, he is also able to negotiate more advantageous rates.
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