Re: Mutuelle recommendation needed please ( dentistry)

[Clair]

As a comparison, our mutuelle has three levels and for dentistry, it offers:

for soins (care)   100% on all three levels

prosthesis agreed by the sécurité sociale   165%   240%   280%

prosthesis not agreed by the SS     0%   210%     280%

orthodontist care   165%   240%   300%

[Benjamin]

But to understand that fully Clair don't you also need to know what the sécurité social base payment is for each treatment. It's this part of it that I find so difficult to grasp although as we always say it's better than the UK where unless you're a youngster you get nothing anyway.

[Clair]

As Puzzled quotes a % in her post, I simply wanted to give a basis for comparison.

Full details of basic dental reimbursements can be found here.

[Benjamin]

Thank you very much Clair (or should that be Saintess Clair?)

When we were looking at Mutuelles nearly three years ago I always found it difficult to get my head around the fact that percentages quoted by  them didn't normally mean that you got that same percentage of the cost charged by the dentist.

[cooperlola]

The Argent 300 plan from Exclusive pays up to 300% of the normal tariff (depending on the actual cost) - and there are cheaper versions for other percentages.

http://www.exclusivehealthcare.com/File/client/EHC23%20Plans%20Complementaires.pdf

We find them very efficient and they pay up within a very few days - no forms - routine treatment is automatically paid for when you use your Carte Vitale.

[Owen]

Hello Puzzled,

You can make a reasonable case for not purchasing a top up insurance which includes dental and save on premiums. Routine dental treatment (fillings, cleaning etc) is not very expensive and the CPAM covers it 70% anyway. So to pay the rest out of your own pocket is an option. Regular check ups for children at the 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 year points are covered 100% by the CPAM. Such things as crowns are more expensive. The tarif for a crown is 107,50 € and the CPAM covers 70% of this. But the actual cost is much higher than 107,50 €. probably a minimum of 350 - 400 €; more if it is a ceramic crown. So you would have to go near the top of the range plan (with the premiums to match) to cover such costs. The same principle applies to orthodontics which may be a concern for you with young children. The CPAM covers 193.50 € per six months per child under 16 but depending on the complexity of the treatment the total bill could be considerably higher.

Regards

Owen

pjowen@expathealthdirect.co.uk