Faced with the “explosion of costs” of mutual health insurance, UFC-Que Choisir demands a reform “for a fairer society”

Près de 4 % de la population française fait le choix de ne pas avoir de complémentaire santé. MAXPPP – FRANCOIS DESTOC

The consumer association denounces the increase in inequalities in access to care, in a study published this Tuesday, January 28, 2025. By putting forward the figure of 2.6 million French people without supplementary health insurance, UFC – Que Choisir wants to reform the financing of the health system, called “Grande Sécu”.

“Letting the most vulnerable choose between getting treatment and paying their bills is unworthy of a country like ours,” says the president of the UFC – Que Choisir, Marie-Amandine Stévenin. The consumer association unveiled a study on Tuesday, January 28, which denounces the financing model of the French health system, which “worsens social divides”, particularly in the face of the latest increases in the price of mutual insurance.

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Primarily targeting the most precarious, particularly students and retirees, the association UFC-Que Choisir puts forward the figure of 2.6 million French people without supplementary health insurance, or 4% of the population. “This obsolete model worsens social divisions”, denounces the organization.

A choice of a part of the citizens which is explained, still according to the association, by the “explosion of costs”health insurance. If it increases by 6% in 2025 according to health professionals, it reaches “up to 30% for some households”, warns UFC-Que Choisir. Adding in the study published this Tuesday that “contributions to health insurance have increased rapidly, by almost 19.7% between 2018 and 2022”. Taking age into account, the consumer association's surveys denounce “a median increase of 40%” between 2018 and 2024.

A reform for access to health for all

“Access to care is not a privilege, it is a fundamental right”, proclaims the president of UFC-Que Choisir, which defends the transformation of the current health model. The “Grande Sécu”, as described by the association, aims to guarantee access to care for the entire population by reducing social inequalities. “For French households, the expenses allocated to supplementary health insurance via contributions would be redirected towards health insurance, on a more redistributive principle.”

TheUFC-Que Choisir thus recommends that the State “establish a compulsory health insurance scheme”, allowing the coverage “at 100%” of health expenses, “in order to move away from market logic and protect all citizens.”