REPORTING. “I save 50 euros per month”: in Montreuil, nearly 5,000 residents benefit from municipal mutual insurance

More than 5,000 French towns have set up municipal mutual insurance, a system allowing anyone to benefit from additional health coverage at a lower cost.

The city of Montreuil, in Seine-Saint-Denis, was the first city of more than 100,000 inhabitants to launch in 2018 and offer its residents municipal mutual insurance. A system that makes it accessible to everyone, without conditions, to benefit from low-cost mutual insurance, while 5% of French people do not have one, and prices will increase by around 8%, according to the Federation National of the French Mutuality.

For six years, the City has played the role of intermediary between a mutual partner and the residents. In February, this partner organization changed: it is now the Mutuelle Familiale which welcomes Montreuillois residents in the city center. Tatiana, 76, was one of the first to benefit from this municipal mutual in 2018. “We spend on a lot of things, glasses, teeth. With age, the prices are higher”she regrets.

According to Montreuil town hall, the difference in price with a traditional individual contract can reach several tens of euros per month for those who choose high guarantee levels, like Jean, 80 years old.

“This allows me to save 50 euros per month, since I took out the maximum coverage. Over a year, that represents quite a bit of money all the same.”

Jean, 80 years old, a resident of Montreuil

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In six years, 4,800 Montreuillois have subscribed to municipal mutual insurance. Before that, a third of them did not have complementary health insurance, according to the town hall, which was also very vigilant on the question of prices when changing partners.

Stable rates for two years

Vincent Kauffman, deputy director of health for the city of Montreuil, explains how the negotiations took place: “We told the partners that we wanted to have a proposal in their hands, but which indicated to us how they wanted to control prices over the duration of the contract. This was an element which participated in the political decision.”

The Family Mutuality has therefore undertaken not to change its rates for at least two years. What happens next will depend, depending on the organization, on political choices on what health insurance reimburses. In the meantime, hundreds of people have joined this municipal mutual fund since the start of the year, accessible to all, provided they live or study in Montreuil. The system is also extended to all territorial agents in the city.