Poppins, the First Video Game Covered by Health Insurance: What It Means for Children With Dyslexia

It's a first in France: a video game is about to be covered by France's health insurance (Assurance Maladie). Called Poppins, this digital medical device is designed to support children with dyslexia in their rehabilitation. The Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS, France's national health authority) issued a favorable opinion on June 23, 2026, paving the way for coverage to take effect as early as September 2026.

A Game Designed to Complement Speech Therapy

Poppins is aimed at children ages 7 to 11 being treated for a reading disorder. The principle: game sessions strictly limited to twenty minutes, to avoid overexposure to screens, during which the child works on reading, writing, and coordination in a playful format. Scientific publications cited by the trade press report improvements in reading speed and accuracy, provided the game is used alongside standard speech therapy follow-up.

How the Coverage Will Work

The device won't be freely accessible: its use requires a medical prescription and is meant to complement, not replace, a rehabilitation program already being followed with a speech therapist. The HAS's favorable opinion still needs to be confirmed by the Ministry of Health for coverage to take effect, initially for a period of one year.

• Target group: children with dyslexia ages 7 to 11
• Session length: 20 minutes maximum
• Condition: prescription + concurrent speech therapy follow-up
• HAS opinion: favorable, issued June 23, 2026
• Expected coverage: starting September 2026, for one year

An Opening for Therapeutic Games

Poppins isn't the very first serious game covered by national solidarity: the OdySight app, dedicated to eye conditions, was already covered at 100% under Article 51 of the Social Security financing law (loi de financement de la Sécurité sociale), an exceptional provision. But Poppins would be the first video game to move to standard-track coverage by France's health insurance system, a sign that health gamification is gradually moving out of the margins. It's a trend worth watching, as the video game industry increasingly incorporates artificial intelligence and digital tools quietly but deeply evolve into uses once reserved for entertainment.

This kind of announcement comes as the video game industry goes through a busy news cycle, between record attendance figures like at Gamescom 2026 and growing diversification of uses, from pure entertainment to medical applications approved by health authorities.

To follow all our articles on the topic, check out our Gaming section as well as our Health – Medicine section.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Poppins, the video game covered by health insurance?

It's a digital medical device in the form of a game, designed for children with dyslexia ages 7 to 11, which works on reading, writing, and coordination through sessions of 20 minutes maximum.

How can you get this therapeutic game covered?

A medical prescription is required, and the child must already be following a rehabilitation program with a speech therapist: Poppins is meant to complement, not replace, this follow-up.

Does this coverage replace speech therapy follow-up?

No. The Haute Autorité de Santé specifies that the game must be used as an essential complement to supervised speech therapy follow-up, not as an alternative to it.

Sources

• JeuxVideo.com — This Video Game Will Soon Be Covered by Health Insurance, Proof That Games Are Good for Your Health
• Siècle Digital — A Video Game Could Soon Be Covered by Social Security, a First in France
• Munci — Video Game Covered by Social Security: An Unprecedented First in France

This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence. Editorial policy