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Healthcare in France

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This guide is available as a digital file and can be accessed and downloaded from the links provided after checkout and via email.
UPDATED 30 June 2023

- Understand the French healthcare system, how you access it and how you are reimbursed- Useful if you are new to the French healthcare system or want a more in-depth understanding- Reader question and answer sectionAimed at non-French nationals living here, the guide gives an overview of what you are (and are not) covered for. There is also information for second-home owners and regular visitors.

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More about this guide

We explain the rules of health cover which can be complex and which depend upon your personal circumstances; the guide helps you to understand the French healthcare system from your own perspective.

Any updates will be an addendum to your guide and an email will be sent alerting you to these. Please note that we are unable to update previous editions of a guide. Generally any updates made will be within a given calendar year, so any further updates to the current guide will be made during 2023 after which point we would expect to publish a new edition.

Contents include:
Overview, registering and finding a GP

Discover how the French healthcare system works
What medical services are available
How to find an English-speaking doctor
How and why you should get a carte Vitale

How to pay for medical treatment

Mutuelles

How to shop for a mutuelle

What to do if you have a problem
How to switch companies
Getting a complémentaire santé solidaire (CSS) on a modest income

Moving over

What has Brexit changed
The healthcare rules for long-stay visas 
Cover for second-home owners
Health rights and the 90/180 rule for foreign visitors
European versus Global (UK) health insurance cards
Moving over as a British or EU state pensioner, the S1 system
Cover for self-employed workers

Pharmacies

How you are reimbursed for your medicines 
Reciprocal rules on prescriptions within the EU
E-prescriptions: New trends in pharmacy services

Reimbursements

Examples of tarifs de convention

What costs apply to hospital stays? 
Emergencies / Medical transport options / Medical supplies / blood test labs  
Nurses, speech therapists, psychologists, osteopaths, hypnosis and alternative medicines

New technologies

How téléassistance and ‘health cabins’ work
The digital carte Vitale and how soon you can get one
France’s new online digital health space

Ancillary services

Finding a doctor out-of-hours
Vaccinations
The 100% Santé reform for full reimbursement of dental, eye and hearing care
Costs of crowns, implants and dentures
Plastic surgery versus cosmetic surgery
The free two-hour health check open to all

Cancer and Alzheimer’s

Cancer overview in France
Details on different types of cancer
Help for Alzheimer’s sufferers

Healthcare abroad for French residents

Healthcare outside of France
Other treatments in the EU
Post-Brexit rights to healthcare in the UK

Disability benefits

Exportable benefits
French benefits
Help for people who no longer work (full-time)

CPAM

Contesting a CPAM decision

Update dated June 30th, 2023 includes:

‘Direct access’ to be given to certain health professionals such as physios and nurses: what is changing?
State refunds for dentistry set to drop: when and what services are affected?
Low-cost or free CSS top-up insurance reinstated for S1-holders – UK and EU pensioners can reapply
‘Digitalisation of healthcare’ continues with prescriptions and personal medicines dossier
Rise in GP fees is under negotiation – and why some doctors are not following the rules
Drug shortages: President Macron has promised to remedy the situation by bringing production back to France 
We look at the official website which provides high quality information on French hospitals and clinics

Plus reader question and answers


*IMPORTANT NOTICE
This guide is available as a digital file and can be accessed and downloaded from the links provided after checkout and via email.
The information in this guide is of a general nature, it is not advice which if needed can be sought by instructing a professional on the specifics of your situation.
All purchases are subject to our terms and conditions.