Optical care: why 100% reimbursed glasses are so unsuccessful

You have to cross the shop and go to the back left to access the famous “Attitude Santé” collection.

Two small posters present the “100% Health” device which customers can benefit from if they choose one of these glasses at 30 euros.

Without being hidden, the frames are not really put forward in this Optic 2000 store, located in the heart of Paris.

“I wouldn't say that, it's even the opposite!

It's basically, okay, but I placed them in a design space, with a high-end wooden frame, ”argues Ludovic Cluzel, the manager.

In any case, he continues, his customers are not the "first concerned" by this state device.

Generalized on January 1, this promise by Emmanuel Macron must make optical, dental and hearing care accessible to all by guaranteeing a zero charge for certain services.

However, according to a first assessment drawn up by Social Security, this Thursday, there is still a long way to go in the optics.

Only 14% of frames and 12% of lenses were sold as part of “100% Health”, set up for optics on January 1, 2020. “Glasses have become an accessory fashion, customers prefer to pay the price, defends Ludovic Cluzel.

I present the device to my customers, I show the 100% Health frame on the quote, as required.

Afterwards, it's up to them to see… ”

An investigation into the repression of fraud

Elisabeth, a 71-year-old loyal customer, has "always" chosen to focus on aesthetics and quality.

“I have them on my nose every day and I want to make sure that my glasses are efficient for my eyes, supports this former employee of a pension fund.

I have a mutual, the means.

And anyway, 100% Health, I don't really know… It's pretty vague for me.

"

Public authorities and consumer associations point to a possible lack of enthusiasm on the part of opticians in the way they present the device to their customers.

"In the field, customers tell us that some professionals do not even talk to them about the device", annoys Marianick Lambert, president of France Assos Santé.

“14% of sales, that doesn't seem like much… We must present 100% Health frames as a qualitative offer, not denigrate them”, supports Albert Lautman, general manager of the Mutualité Française.

So, would opticians refuse to play the game?

Doubt exists.

An investigation was launched by the General Directorate for Competition, Consumption and Fraud Control (DGCCRF).

"Maybe one or two opticians here or there are not playing along. But we are promoting the device ourselves and we have been singled out?

», Gets carried away Olivier Padieu, president of Optic 2000.

"100% Health, could I be entitled to it?"

"

André Balbi, president of the Rassemblement des opticiens de France (ROF), highlights the 2.5 million sales made in the context of 100% Health last year.

“The percentages presented are misleading,” he says.

And then, when you have a mutual, with a reimbursement of up to 100 euros, how do you blame you if you go for better quality frames?

We are not going to say that glasses at 30 euros are equivalent to those at 150 euros, that would be wrong!

"

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This is typically the choice of Michel, 68, who came to correct his glasses in Ludovic Cluzel's Optic 2000 store, on this Friday afternoon.

Retired from the construction sector, he benefits from a mutual insurance company which “largely” reimburses his expenses.

“And I prefer to have a rest to charge if it is to obtain quality.

Me, I'm lucky, I can afford it, ”launches this resident of the 7th arrondissement of Paris.

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Danielle, 77, would have liked to have access to the device to avoid spending "a fortune" in the optics.

“At retirement, I did not have the means to pay myself a large mutual, she blows.

It's good that it was created, for people in difficulty.

I think that with my severe myopia, there are no reimbursed glasses anyway ... "When in doubt, Danielle leans towards the counter and questions Ludovic:" But 100% Health, I could be entitled to it. ?

"