It's a question we get a lot: "Does my mutuelle cover blue light glasses?" The answer mostly depends on one thing: do you need a prescription?
The short answer
- Non-prescription glasses (like ours): no reimbursement from French national health insurance, and as a rule none from your top-up insurance (mutuelle) either.
- Prescription glasses with a blue light filter: the glasses can be covered, with a prescription, but the filter is often an option that adds to what you pay yourself.
Why non-prescription glasses aren't covered
National health insurance (Assurance maladie) covers eyewear when it corrects vision: you need a prescription and corrective lenses. A pair with plano lenses, even with a blue light coating, doesn't qualify, whether you buy it from an optician, a pharmacy or online.
On the top-up side, the eyewear cover in so-called "responsible" contracts, by far the most common, follows the same logic: it applies to prescribed equipment. Some contracts occasionally include special allowances; only your insurer can confirm that, contract in hand. So assume it isn't covered.
The upside: without a prescription, you don't need a doctor's note to buy them.
If you wear prescription glasses: 100% Santé
Since 2020, the 100% Santé scheme lets you get prescription glasses with nothing left to pay, with a prescription and a responsible top-up contract. Lenses in this offer ("Class A") must be thinned according to the prescription, hardened against scratches and anti-reflective.
A blue light filter isn't one of these built-in treatments. If you add it, it generally falls under free-pricing equipment ("Class B"): national health insurance then covers almost nothing, and your mutuelle tops up within its limits. What you pay yourself therefore varies a lot from one contract to another.
How to pay less at the optician's
- Ask for a detailed quote. The optician must give you a quote that includes at least one 100% Santé option. Compare the price with and without the blue light filter.
- Mix the two classes. You can combine 100% Santé lenses with a free-pricing frame, or the other way round.
- Ask your mutuelle before you sign, quote in hand: they'll tell you exactly what they cover.
- Mind the timing. For an adult, cover is in principle limited to one pair every two years, unless your eyesight changes.
- Ask yourself whether the filter is really useful. A good anti-reflective coating, already included in 100% Santé, gives most of the comfort in front of a screen. We explain why in the downsides of blue light glasses.
What about work?
If your eyes get tired from screen work, talk to your occupational health service. Setting up the workstation (screen height, reflections, lighting, breaks) comes before buying any glasses, and it is also the employer's responsibility. Our tips for a comfortable set-up are in remote work: looking after your eyes.
So what about non-prescription glasses?
They make sense if you don't need a prescription and want a pair for work or for the evening. At SAY, they start at €49.90, with free delivery in France and 30 days to change your mind. Not reimbursed, then, but at a price you know upfront.
Torn between a non-prescription pair and prescription lenses? Our guide computer glasses: which ones to choose will help you decide.
This information applies to France and dates from September 2026. Reimbursement rules change: if in doubt, check with your health insurance fund and your top-up insurer.