What does supplementary health insurance cover for birth and children?

Supplementary insurance only tops up what the CNS pays, so start with the basics.

For the birth, the CNS fully covers your hospital stay in a standard room, and the daily hospital contribution adults normally pay is not charged for the first 12 days of a stay for childbirth. What the CNS does not cover is a single room ("first class"): you pay a daily room supplement, and doctors may charge 66% more than the official tariff (unless the single room is medically necessary). Comfort extras such as phone, TV or internet are not covered either.

For children under 18, the health ministry states that healthcare costs are covered in full by the health insurance, with no personal contribution. Children pay no daily contribution in hospital, and when a child under 14 is admitted, a bed for an accompanying parent is covered (meals are not). Some extras still fall to you: orthodontic treatment, for example, is covered only with prior approval and if it starts before age 17, and the extra cost of clear brackets is not reimbursed.

Supplementary insurance, also called mutual insurance, can reimburse, under certain conditions, the difference between what you paid and what the CNS paid. It can cover:

• hospital stays
• prostheses and certain dental care
• assistance and healthcare abroad, planned or unplanned
• extra medical and dental fees
• "soft" medicine, such as osteopathy

Cover is offered by insurance companies and by state-recognised mutual insurance companies, some of them for specific professional groups. The website of the Caisse médico-complémentaire mutualiste (CMCM) lists the recognised mutuals. Some policies only pay after you have been a member for a certain time, so if a birth is planned, check the waiting period early. Compare what each policy pays for a single room, dental care and care abroad before you choose.