Reimbursement of reusable hygienic protection by Social Security

Certain reusable feminine protections will be reimbursed by Social Security from Thursday October 1st. The measure only concerns products sold in pharmacies and concerns 6.5 million French women. The objective is to fight against menstrual poverty.

For a woman who is menstruating, purchasing pads or tampons costs 100 to 150 euros per year on average. From now on, women under 26, without means requirements, will be able to benefit each year from two menstrual cups or two menstrual panties reimbursed at 60% by Social Security. For beneficiaries of complementary solidarity health insurance, coverage will even be 100%, regardless of age. Many pharmacists report having placed orders for these products, but not all of them have been delivered.

"There are quite drastic specifications. The laboratories which market them must be approved. I think that this will start gradually. The pharmacies will be delivered, but on October 1, it will perhaps be a little tight to come and ask us for them", explains Clarisse Romont who runs La Pharmacie de la gare in Vanves, in Hauts-de-Seine. Indeed, the specifications for these products were published this summer in the Official Journal. It specifies the criteria for the composition and quality of these protections covered by Social Security.