Owen

Hello Bastet, Your RAM payments will be effective from the day the business was registered. (Yes L, although the CPAM is the principal sickness organisation in France there are others that cover specific sectors, eg; the self-employed and agricultural workers.). It is important therefore to send a copy of your business registration to the CPAM so that you are removed from their books. You are also now covered by RAM as a dependant but clearly you need to get this regularised. If you have a "top up" insurance you need to review this. Some providers give premium reductions to the self-employed and also for the self-employed the premiums can be offset against income tax if the contracts comply with "loi Madelin" - most do. Regards Owen [email protected]

As a UK resident you will be entitled to free treatment under the NHS. So a loss adjuster may decide to fly a patient back to the UK by air ambulance if the medical condition so allows. This is expensive but the insurers' liability would end once the patient was back in the UK, whereas the cost of treatment in North America is astronomical. Hospitals in the USA also tend to bump up the costs of any treatment even more if they know a foreigner has adequate insurance. Regards Owen [email protected]

Hello Bastet, No I am not saying that. CPAM can review the cotisations but one of the main tasks of URSSAF is to act as debt collector for the French state and there is no point in making representations to URSSAF to review your payments - only CPAM can do that. Regards Owen [email protected]

Hello Bastet, "Do you know if 'they' take into account anything from Previ-Options or Previ-Retraite accounts? I don't think we get any interest from them but I guess I should send them all the details anyway" It is difficult to forecast what they are going to take into account. Certainly if you are receiving interest then you must declare it but if you are not then I think to simply mention you have such accounts is the correct way to proceed. if they want further details they will ask. But you do need to really try and stay calm about this. The fact that you received an unannounced visit suggests you are dealing with a pretty vindictive lot. Depending on your level of French (and stamina!) you may be able to use the sclerotic bureaucracy to delay any final payment. But once any figures are sent to URSSAF then you are cooked because it will be then too late for any appeals. Regards Owen [email protected]

Hello Bastet, The best of luck with your appeal. What you should not do is apologize for just declaring your "revenu fiscal de referecne" (RFR). That is the basic requirement and with a copy of your "avis d'impot" accompanying your income declaration you did exactly what was required of you. The CPAM, as you have found out, can investigate further but there was no obligation on your part, at the time, to declare any more than the RFR. Regards Owen [email protected]

Hello SD, You do not seem to be making any distinction between CMU and E Forms. CMU Law 641-99 provided for basic universal healthcare for those French residents who did not otherwise have any entitlement to state healthcare. Further, for the poorest of households healthcare would be free and for the rest a financial contribution would be payable. F Forms are totally different and therefore affiliation via these means is not subject to CMU legislation. You do have an entitlement to healthcare under EU reciprocal arrangements and you pay no financial contribution for basic healthcare. So to say that an E106 holder has an absolute right to a CV is a moot point and particularly as E106 has a limited life. And clearly some CPAM offices take the view that a CV will not be issued to those with a temporary affiliation. And often the social security number issued is a temporary one too. Whether those CPAM offices are acting improperly with this policy I would not like to say, but I do not think it would be worth getting into a dispute with CPAM about it. We must dance with the girls we have. Regards Owen [email protected]

Hello Cooperola, The reason why you do not get the argument is because you do not understand the rules about issue of E106. E106s' , which always have some sort of time limit (essentially temporary in nature), are issued to all sorts of people.. It is not only issued to those, who live but not work in France and are below retirement age, Somebody like Sunday Driver will be able to confirm this. Regards Owen [email protected]

Hello, Just a small point; but many CPAM offices do not issue a "carte vitale" to E106 holders as, by definition, it is of limited validity. They do of course issue a social security number, so refunds are still made - albeit more slowly. Regards Owen [email protected]

Hello, Thank you both for your comments and certainly nobody knows for certain. I tend to take the view that whilst it may not be a crash unfolding it could be a general decline lasting a couple of years and pehaps purchasing a bit of protection through put warrants may be in order. Regards Owen

I would be interested what views you have on the events on the world stock markets this last week. is this a crash/very severe correction unfolding or simply a blip? Particularly interested in those who make many investment decisions themselves as opposed to paying so called professionals to do the job for them. Regards Owen

Hello Victoria, I suggest you start your pregnancy planning in France with a blank sheet of paper. Most if not all providers will apply a waiting period for maternity claims. This is not as bad as you may think as you can reasonably expect around 95% cover from the CPAM anyway, particularly from the 4th month onwards. As Will points out, a private clinic is not necessaily superior in France. Indeed a large public hospital is more likely to have all the back up staff and equipment in the event of complications in delivery and immediate post natal care. Regards Owen [email protected]

Hello, Thermal cures are common here in France with over 100 centres throughout the country. They are used in the treatment of all sorts of conditions. Furthermore it is possible to obtain a level of cover from the CPAM if the cure is recommended by your doctor. Regards Owen [email protected]

Hello Will, You are bang on about social security stuff. The 4th edition of the Blevins Franks book had serious flaws (not just figures being out of date which is almost inevitable) in chapters about health cover and I pointed these out to them. This was acknowledged by David Franks so hopefully future editions will be OK at least in this resppect. Regards Owen

Hello Treizewinds, I have never said the French health system is absurd but that the CMU legislation is. I think the genuinely poor should be able to obtain state healthcare even if that poor person is an illegal immigrant. I cannot be any clearer on this point For those who are living but not working in France I have no problems in them having the right to subscribe and pay into a state system - I just do not think they should be forced to. And if they prefer to make healthcare provision by private health insurance they should not be fined or imprisoned. Your questions: "What would "full private health insurance" mean in the French context? I actually don't know what it means". That instead of paying contributions under CMU legislation they can pay premiums to an insurer such as BUPA. "Where would they get their care?" In established French medical facilities. "" In the same facilities? Not necessarily (see below). " And why would they not want the French "national" insurance?" i have already mentioned in a previous post that some want Europe/worldwide coverage which CMU does not offer. Another reason, relevant to expats, is that in the case of some medical treatment they may wish to have it in their home country; not to have access to elite treatment but to be near their family. "Who would calculate the rate? And on what basis? I actually don't know the answer. As now premiums being set by the insurer depending on the level of cover required". " And who would benefit from "full private health insurance"?" I have mentioned who may benefit above. "The poor? The just above CMU level entitlement? The people at 1500-2000 euros a month?" These people, and any other resident for that matter not paying contributions via legal employment/self-employment, should continue to have the right but not the legal obligation, to affiliate to the state system "Or the easy class?" Don't understand this. "Why would anyone want to tamper that much with what your corporate web site claims is the best health service in the world (not counting the complex bureaucracy)?" Tampering is not the issue. The quality of healthcare in France is high but if these standards are to be maintained then serious reform is necessary. Indeed such reforms have been introduced over recent years. A poster on this thread has already mentioned the social security deficit. The health budget deficit has been in deficit for some years. For 2006 it is expected to turn out around the 6 billion Euros level. Regards Owen [email protected]

Hello Kathy C, There are various reasons why private insurance would be a preferential option for some people. For example, such a policy may not just cover health costs in France but Europe-wide or worldwide as well. But because of how healthcare is administered in France, a private policy holder would not have access to superior healthcare to those covered by the "Sécu" eg; access to specialists etc And it is not as if someone with full private insurance therefore does not contribute. The biggest single source of funding of the CPAM is CSG which is levied on most sources of income. For those like Treizewinds and BSJLIV, who would appear to agree with this absurd legislation; get this: under a little known faciility - "Aide Médicale d"Etat (AME) an ILLEGAL immigrant can obtain healthcare in France funded by the state. Now I am not suggesting that anyone should be left to die in the street. But neither do I think that someone who has private insurance, and would not be a drain on the health budget, be put in the slammer. Regards Owen [email protected]

Hello BSJLIV, I am not a lawyer but I do not think the assumption you make is correct. People, who could afford private insurance from their capital but would not otherwise have to pay contributions because of actual low declared income, would still fall foul of this law. Simply opting for private insurance in itself would appear to be an offence. There is probably bags of "égalité" and "fraternité" among the starving of North Korea but it aint much good "sans liberté". Regards Owen [email protected]

Hello Treizevents, My business is not private healthcare. You are equating the participation of commercial health insurers necessarily with a two tier health system perhaps drawing on the experience in the UK when those who can afford BUPA cover for example can skip waiting lists. In fact private healthcare is all around you in France. There are public hospitals and private clinics to which there is general access for most of the population. Most private clinics in France are still "conventioné" and the two tier system that exists in the UK does not really occur here. The issue is not private or public care but how it can be better funded. Private insurance I would suggest has a greater part to play in funding health in France. It does already, of course in that the two largest providers of "top up" insurance in France are AXA and Groupama. A law that can put somebody in the slammer for 2 years, for having full private insurance instead of affiliating to the "Sécu", and therefore cuts off a potential source of funds for health, is as daft as the CMU law which complements this draconian legislation. And on the subject of free "top ups"; the CPAM can and do use other criteria apart from declared income to assess entitlement so it is not quite the free lunch people think. Regards Owen [email protected]

Hello, I think some of you are missing a fundamental point. The CMU legislation, whilst well meaning, is daft.. As far as abuse by the apparently wealthy is concerned (in fact in many cases they are simply obeying the daft law) it is going off at a tangent. Not only is it stupid, it is certainly against the spirit of EU law to make full private health insurance illegal. So why not simply repeal,, or at least modify, the law? After all it would be a measure to relieve the burden on the state. Very simple. If a government can restrict the freedom of an individual in their choice of healthcare provision, and under pain of fines and imprisonment if they do not comply, they are not going to give up this option. even for the sake of millions of Euros. Regards Owen [email protected]

Hello Chessfou, Your UK issued EHIC will be valid in EU/EEA countries plus Switzerland except France, which is obviously covered by the E106. The reason why the UK is covered is for the same reason why the UK issued EHIC is valid in other countries. Although you are fiscally resident in France you remain INSURED by the UK. This is therefore an exception to the issue of UK EHIC / residence qualification rule. In anticipation of coming under withering attack about why therefore E121 does not come under the same rules as E106; sufficed to say there are all sorts of reasons why cover by E106 is different and why E121 holders have EHICs issued in France as opposed to the UK. The actual basis of the issue of E106, by the UK, is an underlying entitlement to UK Short Term Incapacity Benefit. You do not have to be in receipt of it - just have the underlying entitlement. To all of you, apart from you Chessfou who has already displayed original thought, think about it. Regards Owen [email protected]

Hello, Association Huntington France are located at 44, rue Chateau des Rentiers 75013 PARIS. Tel 01 53 60 08 79. I do not know of a branch in the Dordogne but there is one in Bordeaux. The contact there is Mme Francoise Bertin, 2 rue Pérey, 33000 Bordeaux. Tel 05 56 96 48 21. Regards Owen [email protected]

Hello SD, Well I am pleased that they did not act simply on bar room chat and in my first post I did say "possibly" because enough people do take this route. It is difficult for me to comment further as I do no know the full circumstances. What I would say that whilst following DWP and CPAM procedures is admirable it does help if you are armed with background knowledge and not just snippets from websites. As I say it is probably too late now but you may wish to suggest to this couple that they take along the E121 and ask CPAM if they will submit E107 (nominating the husband as dependant) to the DWP . It is possible that this particular CPAM office may not have even heard of E107. I have successfully used this device several times. CPAM gains also as, although no contributions via CMU are paid, the UK government/taxpayer covers a good proportion of the healthcare costs whereas under CMU affiliation the UK government pays nothing. Indeed it it is the general policy of the CPAM to insist that the E Forms route is exhausted for this reason. This couple would have been in a much stronger position if they had made the E107 request immediately the E121 had been received. Now they are well and truly in the CMU swamp from where it will be difficult to be extricated but which they could probably have avoided. Regards Owen [email protected]

Hello SD, As long as one of the partners is entitled to E106 or E121 then cover for the other can be put in place provided they organize their affairs correctly from the outset But if you start off wrong then it can be difficult to retrieve the situation ie; the result being up to your a*** in alligators when the original idea was to drain the swamp. So the example you quote of a couple, one of whom is paying contributions, simply indicates they ignored the dangers of the swamp; possibly by seeking advice from those who frequent expat bars. Regards Owen

Hello, From what you have written I do not think paying an accountant is worthwhile in your case. Further, as your affairs seem to be relatively straightforward ask for advice from your local 'Hotel des Impots". They may well have a member of staff who deals with the affairs of foreigners. In my experience the staff of the French tax authorities are very helpful and if your circumstances do not require detailed counsel from professional advisors approach visit the "fiscs". In my opinion they are are a considerable improvement in the Inland Revenue in the UK. Regards Owen

Hello and a ~Happy New Year to all, This is the season when professionals in the financial services industry make their forecasts for the coming year across a whole range of markets and there will be many who will act on such forecasts. I am in no way a professional advisor but there are certain seasonal events that my be of assistance. I will confine myself to the US Stock market as a bull or bear market on Wall Street will be reflected on most other world stock markets. At this time of year the behavior on Wall Street can give a clue to the year ahead. First of all the last trading day before Christmas is the second most bullish day of the year. There is only one other day, the last trading day of the year, when shares are more likely to advance than any other. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the broader based Standard and Poors 500 declined that day. Then there is the Santa Claus rally (or absence of one). Usually there is short rally of around 1 - 2% from the first trading after Christmas to the close of business on the second day of trading in January. Both the Dow and the S & P 500 were down on the most bullish day of the year. Overall there was a Santa Claus rally but it was a sub-standard affair with Dow up around 0.8% and the S&P 500 up 0.4%. The next useful indicator is January. The first 5 trading days, whether advancing or declining, often indicates how the whole of January will turn out. And how January ends is a reasonable indicator how shares will perform throughout the year. This January "barometer" is not perfect at all but is nevertheless very reliable. In summary we have had a sub standard Santa Claus rally and where shares have declined on the two most bullish days of the year. If January on Wall Street ends in negative territory then the probability is for a decline in US share prices in 2007. Regards Owen

Hello Paul, Sterling is quite strong against the Euro at the moment at around 1.4925. it has been higher but not much. It was a touch under 1 .46 on 1 January 2006. The Euro/Sterling cross has traded in a relatively tight range in the last 3 years a 10% difference maximum between high and low. Nothing is certain for the future but it strikes me that to gain (or lose) a lot on this currency cross in the near term will be tough. Even if the Euro does strengthen, sterling interest rates are still higher than Euro ones although they have narrowed this year. Comparative interest/inflation rates are certainly a factor in the Forex markets and is a major reason for the comparative weakness of the yen. If only it was so simple. Unfortunately sentiment can be also a major driving force and can push yield considerations to the background and this can play havoc with forecasts - even those of professionals. Warren Buffett was dreadfully wrong with his weaker Dollar against the Euro forecast at the beginning of 2005. The dollar gained 15% last year although it has clawed back around 10% this year. We are now entering the season when "experts" make their forecasts for 2007. It is worth keeping copies of some of them to give some idea just how random these markets are. In December last year Deutsche Bank forecast an end of 2006 dollar/euro rate at 1.27 which looks as it will be pretty accurate. At least they have forecast the right direction. However they also forecast the yen/dollar cross at Y102 which looks to be way off the mark. In fact I think such forecasts a year ahead are pretty pointless apart from selling financial products. Regards Owen