Fighting fi t H
aving lived in France for fi ve years, our regular interactions with the French
healthcare system began in earnest when my then 76-year- old mother moved in with us in 2021. Suddenly, I needed to arrange district nurse visits, personal care and GP house calls. When Mum was taken ill in the night, just a couple of days after arriving in France, I got dramatic fi rst-hand experience of the emergency services and hospital care in action. Two years on, and with two teenagers and my own aches and pains, as well as Mum’s continuing needs, I feel as though I’ve had as thorough an insight as I ever want into being ill or injured in France. The fi rst thing I would say
about French healthcare is that it’s excellent. I’ve experienced everything from A&E with a teenager who'd dropped a cast- iron fi reback on his foot (yes, really) to regular consultations
about ongoing, serious medical complaints with Mum. The second thing I would
say is that getting fully into the healthcare system takes perseverance, the repeated presentation of every offi cial document you’ve ever owned (it feels like) and either a good understanding of French or someone to translate for you.
JUST VISITING If you’re a second-home owner, or not yet a French resident, you don’t need to go through this process. A Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC), or equivalent if you live outside the UK, combined with comprehensive travel insurance should be enough to allow you access to care when you need it, without an excessive bill. In this case, you’ll need to provide ID and evidence of your right to access healthcare and then retain the paperwork, known as the ‘feuilles de soins’, together with
“If you work in France, you will pay French social charges, making you eligible for healthcare”
Sarah Daly looks at the French healthcare system and what you can expect if you need routine or emergency care while you’re in France
prescriptions and receipts. You will probably pay up front for care you receive, claiming some or all of it back later, depending on your circumstances.
ACCESSING CARE IF YOU LIVE IN FRANCE If you are a resident or plan on becoming one, there are two main ways of accessing the healthcare system. If you are retired and have made all necessary National Insurance contributions in the UK, or occasionally if you’re a posted or frontier worker, you’ll need to apply for an S1. If you work in France, you will pay French social charges, making you eligible for health care.
GETTING A ‘CARTE VITALE’ In either case, your fi rst port of call will be your local Caisse Primaire d’Assurance Maladie (CPAM). You should be able to have healthcare fees backdated to your date of application, or of your S1, so you will need to retain feuilles de soins and accompanying paperwork to submit once you have a social security number. Once you are in the system,
you will be issued with your carte vitale. This ‘magical’ card is presented to every healthcare professional with whom you interact, from the pharmacy and the GP, to the midwife, physiotherapist or hospital admissions desk. It ensures that your costs are refunded to your bank account automatically or – if you have a long-term condition (aff ection long durée, or ALD) – you may not pay at all. Certain services such as
The GHIC gves you access to French healthcare on shorter stays 50 FRENCH PROPERTY NEWS: March/April 2024
some vaccines, child mental health services and cancer screening are free when you present your carte vitale.
‘TOP-UP’ HEALTH INSURANCE Health insurance, known as a mutuelle, is something that most French residents will have. Unlike in some other counties, having this in place doesn’t allow you to jump the queue for care, it just ‘tops up’ state provision and therefore reduces the amount you ultimately pay for medications, specialist appointments and hospital stays. A policy may cover just you or your whole family and it will vary according to your circumstances. My mother, for instance,
has a long-term condition so pays very little for medication but often ends up in hospital, so her policy refl ects this. My daughter has just had a brace on her teeth, and my son and I wear glasses, so we adapted our policy to refl ect these factors too. If you need to upgrade your policy, for instance due to an
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