E106 or register for French Health Care

[sueinbushey]

Any advice please.

When we move to France later this year, we anticipate that neither myself nor my husband will work for the first six months or so.

Is it necessary for us to register for French Health Care or will the E106 form suffice. I realise the E106 form will only cover us for 75% of the costs and we will take out a top up insurance.

Is it only necessary to register once one of us starts employment.

Thanks

[Iceni]

For 'E106 will only cover us for 75%' read E106 will only cover us for 35 - 65% and that is only if the clinic/doctor charge 100% of the tariff, some charge many times more. Your 'top-up' will be an ever increasing cost - currently going up between 12 and 20% a year as the French gov. keep moving the goal posts.

If you are coming here for more than a holiday you must register. Not to do so could land you with a bill for €1k a day if you are very unlucky and are ill or have an accident. Register within a month or as soon as possible, until you do you cannot get a 'top-up' insurance. We registered in your situation and although we have only had to use the doctor for minor ailments know of those who did not register and have not been so lucky.

All the best with your move to France.

[Catalpa]

... and apply for your E106 6-8 weeks before you leave the UK as it can take Newcastle between 1 and 3 months to issue it. AFAIK you can't toddle off to CPAM to register till you've got your E106s.

[zeb]

I think you would have to be very unlucky to get only 35 -65% reimboursed. For all the medication and visits to the doctor under my E106 carte vitale I had 65-70% paid back. For emergency hospitalisation last summer I only paid for the TV and telephone (E106 covered 100% the medical bills)! The Sunday night time doctor's visit, emergency ambulance and after care were reimboursed 65-70% so I claimed the rest back from our top-up (which costs us 120euros per month with professional cover).

The E106 gives one time to get into the French system. If you are not working you will probably have to pay 8% of your income after allowances for CPAM health cover when your E106 runs out.

Since registering our micro entreprise we are  registered with the MSA (agricultural) and pay hefty cotisations (nearly 4k) to them. They have paid me 65-70% (even for dental treatment) for visits to my doctor and the medication. (If I need medication or treatment for a chronic disease I have that's covered 100% - luckily I'm in remission!) Hospitalisation (for something else) in January was covered 100% by our cotisations and for medication/aftercare the mutuelle again paid the difference.

I know of someone who unfortunately was found to be suffering from prostate cancer and had treatment before he got cover sorted and had to pay a very hefty bill so it's best to get it sorted out as soon as possible. We have always found the staff at CPAM excellent and very helpful.

 

[Iceni]

Having read a lot on this forum and having done a bit of research, it seems that things changed in January, some items dropped to 35% coverage and according to our mutuelle a lot has been passed to the insurance companies. So if you don't have top-up insurance you could now actually pay more.

I was also under the impression that 100% cover was only for certain detailed illnesses - you may well have one which is unfortunate, if you don't you have to pay the amount that the state do not pay and any extra over and above state limits that some consultants and clinics charge.

[Chas]

I was in the Institut Bergonié in Bordeaux for two days of assorted tests and x-rays last week. The total bill came to just over €1000, of which I paid €1.65 for a phone call.  CPAM picked up 80% of the balance and the mutuelle, for which I pay €62 per month, the remaining 20%. Something I did learn is that it is important to update your carte vitale regularly in order to eliminate hitches in the payment process.

[Will]

Getting back to the original question, if you can get an E106 then you should use it. Note that it doesn't work like an E111. You take your E106 along to your local CPAM office along with all the usual proofs of identity, address, status etc and it gets you a social security number and the entitlement to take out a top up insurance. You pay for treatment, medicines etc and get the appropriate percentage reimbursed, just as you would as a full member of the French system. You should, a while after getting your social security number, get a carte vitale which eases the payment and reimbursement process when you can use it (just about all pharmacies and hospitals take the card, but many individual doctors, dentists etc are not equipped for it).

During the period of E106 validity you get the chance to get into the French tax system, then when the E106 expires it's much easier to join the French system in your own right.

If you are lucky enough to get employment then you will automatically be enrolled into, and pay into, the French health and social security system.