Ian

I receive a British state pension and have for the last five years. I have received the annual increases. I believe this might not be the case outside the EU. I believe pensioners in Australia do not get the increases. Hope this helps ian

It stands for Caisse Primaire d'Assurance Maladie. Try searching on Voila, the French search engine. Lots of sites. For instance you get the CPAM e-mail addresses department by department on www.cti-sud.fr/caissescpam.htm Ian

I am not diabetic but I would be surprised if there were not diabetic clinics. Here in Morbihan there are about 4 Diabetes specialists. Ask your generaliste (GP). As regards payment for drugs. Once your parents are on the State system after presenting their E121 at the local CPAM office they will get documentation to enable them to be reimbursed for drugs. The generaliste will submit a form for 100% reimbursement in the case of a chronic condition. It is then possible to register at a pharmacie so that the charge for drugs is reimbursed directly by the CPAM without your father having to pay anything. It may take a month or two to get the system up and running. Hope this helps.

I have frequent blood tests. I get an ordannance from my GP (generaliste) and the blood is taken by a laboratory in the nearby town who send the result by post and it arrives next day. Your French GP will tell you where the nearest lab is situated. If you do not like the doc you saw or the lab,you are free to go to another. The lab I go to in Brittany is modern, painless and very efficient. I pay by cheque and have a refund from CPAM and my mutual insurance.

Sign and date the TIP form and send it to the Nantes address. No cheque will be required. If your bank details are not on the TIP (they should be) send a RIB with it on the first occasion. There should be a couple of RIBs in your cheque book.

I recently posted a message under the Western France section about a newsletter, Talking Point. It covers your area as well as Baud, Pontivy, Gumen sur Scorff, Mur de Bretagne etc.