“Covid tax” and complementary health insurance

The political justification that the Government brings to the creation of the "Covid tax" can be found in the explanatory memorandum of the LFSS project for 2021:

"the drop in healthcare activity as well as the measures taken by the public authorities to guarantee 100% coverage by the compulsory health insurance of certain expenses have mechanically led to an improvement in the financial results of the COs [understand: Complementary Health] "

Consequently, article 3 of the LFSS for the year 2021 mentions an “exceptional contribution to covering the expenses related to the management of the covid-19 epidemic”.

Exceptional, because – we are told – this contribution will only be applied to the contributions collected for the years 2020 and 2021.

Less enthusiastic, the insurance community speaks of a “Covid tax”.

The latter is based on the contributions paid under the complementary health contracts for the benefit of the mutual insurance companies of the Mutuality Code, companies governed by the Insurance Code, provident institutions of the Social Security Code and those of the Rural Code. et de la pêche maritime, et des organismes étrangers opérant en France en LPS.

The rate applied to contributions collected in 2020 is 2.6%. The Government hopes to draw 1 billion euros for 2020 and 500 million for 2021.

The proceeds of this tax will be allocated to the National Health Insurance Fund.

This new “exceptional contribution” comes on top of the “additional solidarity tax” that pre-existed.