Cataract

Cataract surgery in France: what is covered, what you pay

Your question

Our answer

The operation and a standard monofocal implant are covered: only a flat €32 contribution remains, usually paid by private insurance. Premium implants — toric, multifocal, trifocal, EDOF — are not on any reimbursement list: their supplement is billed to the patient. There is no single price: the quotation is drawn up patient by patient, according to the implant chosen and the medical particularities of the eye.

The operation is covered

Cataract surgery is a reimbursed procedure, with a reference tariff of €271.70 per eye. Because the procedure exceeds €120, the usual co-payment is replaced by a flat contribution of €32 — raised from €24 on 1 April 2026 — charged once per hospital stay and covered by most private policies. Patients with a recognised long-term condition, on the solidarity health cover, or under the Alsace-Moselle scheme are exempt.

The standard implant costs nothing extra

A widely misunderstood point. Intraocular implants were removed from the list of separately reimbursed devices in 2005: since then the monofocal implant is included in the hospital stay package. It is not billed to the patient and should not appear as a line to pay.

Premium implants: the supplement

Toric implants (which correct astigmatism) and multifocal, trifocal or extended-depth-of-focus implants (which also target near vision) are, to date, on no reimbursement list. Their extra cost is billed to the patient as a “particular requirement”.

There is no single price: the quotation is drawn up patient by patient, according to the implant chosen and to the medical particularities of your eye — astigmatism to be corrected, condition of the cornea and retina, previous eye surgery, any combined procedure. That is why it can only be issued after the assessment, and before any decision. The official SFO information sheet includes a specific consent line: “I have received information on the cost of the implants.”

Choosing a premium implant is a medical decision before it is a financial one: not every eye is suited to it, and a well-calculated monofocal implant gives an excellent distance result.

Fee supplements and what insurance covers

The health insurance fund always reimburses on the same basis — €271.70 — whatever is billed. Private cover is expressed as a percentage of that basis, not of the actual amount:

Reading your cover in euros rather than percentages avoids surprises. To this may be added the daily hospital charge, a private room if you request one, and the glasses prescribed after surgery.

The quotation, and a word on clear lens exchange

Written information is mandatory above €70 of fees: it describes the procedures, the amount set and the share covered. Sent to your insurer before surgery, it gives you the exact amount you will pay.

Not to be confused: operating on a still-clear lens for purely refractive purposes is not cataract surgery. The French procedure classification restricts that code to the treatment of cataract, and this surgery is not reimbursed.

Further reading

Sources

• French health insurance — The €32 flat contribution (March 2026)
• French health insurance — Written quotation required above €70
• HAS / Afssaps — Monofocal intraocular implants in cataract surgery (2008)
• SFO — Information sheet 1B, toric, multifocal and accommodative implants

Updated 26 August 2026