An email from the administration, a new pay slip, and suddenly the mention of compulsory mutual insurance half financed by the employer: many civil servants are discovering the reform of complementary social protection in small steps. Problem is, a large proportion of them already contribute to individual supplementary health insurance, sometimes for years, with carefully chosen guarantees. Since 2025, the State has gradually required public employers to co-finance their employees’ complementary health insurance up to 50%, via collective contracts intended for more than 5.5 million people. Membership will become compulsory in most ministries on January 1, 2026, and on May 1, 2026 for National Education. How to organize the transition?
What changes for civil servants
For the first time, the three sides of the public service – State, territorial and hospital – will benefit from the same rule. Magnolia summary : “From January 1, 2026, compulsory mutual insurance in the civil service will become a reality for more than 5.5 million public employees“. This generalization aligns public agents with private sector employees since the ANI law of 2016.
At the heart of the system, the principle is simple: “The employer finances half of the cost of the agent’s supplementary health insurance contribution.“, details the Ministry of Civil Service. The balancing contribution is estimated at around €30 per month, or around €15 covered. The basket includes the co-payment in town and at the hospital, the 100% health, dentist, optics and audiology.
The 2025-2026 calendar
The movement has already started. Le Figaro recalls: “Since 2025, public employers have gradually shifted towards financing complementary health insurance for their agents, up to 50%.“. According to Decree No. 2024-678 of July 4, 2024, several ministries of state will apply the reform from January 1, 2026, while membership will become compulsory on May 1, 2026 for National Education agents.
For the territorial civil service, 50% participation will apply from January 1, 2026, with agents being able to either join a collective contract or a certified mutual insurance company. In public hospitals, the same date is planned, although with the possibility of postponement to 2028 for certain establishments. All statuses are covered: permanent staff, trainees, contract workers and apprentices.
Cancel your individual mutual insurance
The implementation of the new coverage does not terminate the old mutual insurance. Agents must terminate their old individual contract themselves to avoid double contributions. When the contract was more than twelve months old on January 1, 2025, termination had to take place before November 30, 2024. For a more recent contract, it is only possible on the anniversary date, with a temporary exemption until this expiry.
Exemptions from membership exist in a few well-defined cases for public officials. For example :
- Beneficiaries of the Supplementary Solidarity Health Insurance;
- Agents already covered by another collective contract;
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Agents on fixed-term contracts with current individual mutual insurance;
- Agents whose individual contract is less than twelve months old.