Health insurance reimbursements

Health insurance reimbursements

— Alternative medicine & well-being

Hellosoins and its partners provide users and practitioners with up‑to‑date information on reimbursements (amounts, conditions) offered by the main French health insurers, broken down by alternative medicine and well‑being profession. Our teams continuously update this data to give you reliable and useful information.

Consultation

Understanding how complementary health insurance works

Complementary health insurance helps cover the part of medical expenses that is not reimbursed by the national health system. For alternative therapies, insurers often provide dedicated wellness budgets, because these treatments are not covered by compulsory health insurance.

There are two main reimbursement mechanisms:

1. Official tariff: reference amount defined by the national health system.
2. Coverage rate: percentage applied by your insurer to the official tariff.
3. Dedicated budget: yearly allowance reserved for alternative medicine (e.g. €180 per year).

For non‑conventional therapies, the dedicated budget model is the most common (usually 2 to 6 sessions per year, with €25 to €70 reimbursed per consultation).

Practical reimbursement simulations

Example 1: Alternative therapy (typical case)

Session price: €65 (naturopathy)
Benefits: wellness budget €180/year, max €45/session, up to 4 sessions/year
Amount reimbursed: €45
Out-of-pocket cost: €20
Remaining budget: €135

Example 2: Treatment with official tariff

Session cost: €55
Official tariff: €35; national health system: 70% → €24.50
Complementary insurance: 100% of the tariff → €10.50 top‑up
Amount not covered: €20

With 200% coverage of the official tariff, the insurer could reimburse up to €70 based on a €35 tariff.

Key points to remember

• Each insurer applies its own rules depending on the contract you have signed.

• Wellness budgets are usually valid only for the current insurance year.

Criteria used by insurers

  • • Therapies covered (osteopathy, acupuncture, sophrology, etc.)
  • • Annual budget and maximum reimbursement per session
  • • Maximum number of reimbursed sessions per year

Reimbursement process

  • • Detailed invoice from the practitioner
  • • Bank details (for the first claim)
  • • Submission via your online member area or by post