In short:
- Company health insurance (mutuelle d’entreprise) is mandatory in France: every private-sector employer must offer collective complementary health cover to its employees, whatever their length of service.
- The employer pays at least 50% of the premium and the policy must meet a minimum level of cover, known as the panier de soins.
- Employees must join, except in specific opt-out cases: existing cover, short contract, part-time work, complémentaire santé solidaire.
- After the contract ends, cover can be maintained for up to 12 months through portability.
Company health insurance: what the rule says
Company health insurance refers to the collective complementary health scheme set up by the employer. It tops up, in whole or in part, the reimbursements made by the French public health insurance system.
According to the Entreprendre.Service-Public guide checked on 20 January 2026, every private-sector employer, whether a company or an association, must offer this cover to its employees. It can be provided in particular by a mutual insurer (mutuelle).
| Question | Answer in the official guide |
|---|---|
| Which employers? | All private-sector companies and associations |
| Which employees? | All of them, whatever their length of service |
| Who is not concerned? | Private individuals employing someone at home |
| Dependants? | Covering them is not compulsory, but the employer or the social partners can provide for it |
If the employer has not taken out complementary health cover, the employee can bring the matter before the employment tribunal (conseil de prud’hommes).
The three conditions the policy must meet
Compulsory collective cover must meet three conditions.
- The employer’s contribution is at least 50% of the premium. The rest is paid by the employee.
- The policy meets a minimum level of cover, the panier de soins.
- The policy is compulsory for employees, except in the cases where they can refuse it.
The payslip groups contributions by risk, including health: this is part of the mandatory information on a French payslip.
The minimum level of cover
Company health insurance must cover at least the following.
| Item | Minimum cover |
|---|---|
| Reimbursable consultations, procedures and services | The whole patient co-payment (ticket modérateur), with some exceptions |
| Hospital stays | The whole daily hospital charge (forfait journalier) |
| Dental (prostheses and orthodontics) | 125% of the agreed tariff |
| Optical | A fixed amount per 2-year period, of at least €100 for a simple correction and €150, or even €200, for a complex correction |
For optical care, cover is yearly for children or when eyesight changes.
The so-called responsible contract
The complementary health policy can be a “responsible” contract, which follows a set of specifications. This contract must be based on solidarity: the insured person cannot be asked to fill in a health questionnaire or be priced according to their state of health.
Since 1 January 2022, responsible contracts provide for third-party payment on the equipment and care in the “100% santé” basket, in optical, dental and hearing care.
Additional benefits
The policy can go beyond the minimum, for example with an assistance service (home help, childcare) or prevention measures. The collective scheme can also include other cover, such as death or long-term care cover.
How the employer sets up the scheme
Setting it up follows a precise order.
- The collective agreement or industry-level agreement: if the company falls under one, it must comply with what these texts provide. An industry-level agreement can impose minimum cover or a minimum contribution rate.
- The company agreement: the employer and the staff representatives can negotiate an agreement. Where an industry-level agreement exists, the company agreement provides cover that is at least as favourable.
- The employer’s unilateral decision: if negotiations fail, this is what sets up the complementary health scheme.
The employee has nothing to do: the company negotiates the policy and manages it with the insurer. Enrolment comes on top of the other hiring formalities to plan for each new arrival.
In which cases can the employee refuse?
An employee can refuse company health insurance only in certain cases, listed in the Service-Public guide checked on 16 May 2024.
| Employee’s situation | Condition or limit |
|---|---|
| Already covered by another collective scheme, including as a dependant | Another company scheme, a Madelin contract, the local Alsace-Moselle scheme, CAMIEG, complementary cover for public servants |
| Already covered by an individual policy | Exemption valid until the individual policy expires |
| Beneficiary of the complémentaire santé solidaire | Exemption valid as long as the employee benefits from it |
| Present in the company when the scheme was set up | Scheme created by unilateral decision with a financial contribution from the employee, written request |
| Fixed-term or temporary agency contract of less than 3 months, part-time work up to 15 hours a week | Exemption at the employee’s request, with a possible “versement santé” |
| Fixed-term contract of less than 12 months | If the act setting up the scheme provides for it, even without other cover |
| Fixed-term contract of at least 12 months | If the act provides for it, and with proof of cover taken out elsewhere |
| Employee with several employers | Already covered with one of them, with yearly proof of membership |
When to ask for the exemption
Depending on the case, the request is made at the time of hiring, on the date the cover is set up, or on the date the cover that allows the exemption takes effect. When the legal act provides for an exemption, the employer is required to accept it.
The versement santé
Employees on short contracts or part-time who are exempted can receive a “versement santé”. This is a contribution from the employer towards the cost of their individual cover. To be entitled to it, the employee must prove that they hold a responsible contract.
Suspended contract: is cover maintained?
- The employee receives pay or benefits from the employer or from social security: cover must be maintained, whatever the reason for the suspension. The guide mentions illness, maternity, accident, short-time working and adoption leave.
- The employee receives nothing: they must ask their employer whether the cover is maintained.
End of contract: portability of the cover
After the contract ends, the employee can continue to benefit from the cover. This is portability, described in a guide checked on 26 November 2025.
The conditions
- The employee had joined the company’s complementary health scheme.
- The contract ended for a reason other than misconduct classed as faute lourde.
- The termination gives entitlement to unemployment insurance: dismissal, end of a fixed-term contract, legitimate resignation or approved mutual termination. This last point is part of the comparison between mutual termination and resignation.
The duration
Cover is maintained for a period equal to the period of unemployment benefit, within the limit of the length of the last employment contract. It cannot exceed 12 months. It ends earlier if the employee takes up a job that ends their benefit.
What the employer does
The employer states that cover is maintained in the certificate of employment (certificat de travail) and informs the insurer that the contract has ended. The employee, for their part, proves to the insurer that they are covered by unemployment insurance.
After portability
The insurer sends the employee an offer to keep the cover on an individual basis, no later than 2 months after portability ends. The employee has 6 months to ask for it. This policy is paid for by the former employee and its prices are capped for three years.
| Year | Price cap |
|---|---|
| 1st year | Prices equal to those of active employees |
| 2nd year | 25% more at most |
| 3rd year | 50% more at most |
| From the 4th year | Amount set freely |
The same offer is sent to an employee who retires, no later than 2 months after the end of their contract.
Three practical situations
- An employee hired on a permanent contract, already covered as a dependant by her spouse’s compulsory scheme: she can ask for an exemption at the time of hiring.
- An employee on a two-month fixed-term contract: he can ask to be exempted and, if he proves he holds a responsible contract, receive the versement santé.
- An employee dismissed after eight months and receiving unemployment benefit: cover is maintained during the benefit period, within the limit of eight months, the length of the last contract.
Points for employers to check
- Read the collective agreement or industry-level agreement before choosing a policy.
- Check that the employer’s contribution reaches at least 50% of the premium.
- Check that the policy covers the minimum level of cover.
- Collect exemption requests and the supporting documents.
- State that cover is maintained in the certificate of employment for each departure concerned.
Health insurance is one of the benefits that come on top of pay, like meal vouchers, except that it is compulsory.
Frequently asked questions
Is company health insurance mandatory in France?
Yes. Every private-sector employer, whether a company or an association, must offer collective complementary health cover to its employees, whatever their length of service. Private individuals employing someone at home are not concerned. The scheme is compulsory for employees, except in the opt-out cases provided for.
What share of company health insurance must the employer pay?
The employer’s financial contribution must be at least 50% of the premium. The rest is paid by the employee. The employer can also pay the whole premium.
Can an employee refuse company health insurance in France?
Only in certain cases. Those who can ask for an exemption include employees already covered by a compulsory collective scheme, including as a dependant, employees covered by an individual policy until it expires, beneficiaries of the complémentaire santé solidaire, and some employees on short contracts or part-time.
Can you keep company health insurance after the contract ends?
Yes, under conditions. Portability maintains the cover for a period equal to the period of unemployment benefit, within the limit of the length of the last employment contract and of 12 months at most. The termination must not be due to misconduct classed as faute lourde and must give entitlement to unemployment insurance.
Sources
- Entreprendre.Service-Public, Quelle obligation pour l’employeur en matière de complémentaire santé ?, guide checked on 20 January 2026, consulted on 12 October 2026.
- Service-Public, Complémentaire santé d’entreprise (mutuelle santé), guide checked on 15 May 2024, consulted on 12 October 2026.
- Service-Public, Peut-on refuser la mutuelle ou la prévoyance de son entreprise ?, guide checked on 16 May 2024, consulted on 12 October 2026.
- Service-Public, Un salarié peut-il garder la complémentaire santé (mutuelle) employeur à la fin de son contrat ?, guide checked on 26 November 2025, consulted on 12 October 2026.