Healthcare costs & top-up insurance

[Mrs B]

Hi there,

This has probably been asked before, if so, apologies but here goes ... We are hoping to make the move but would like an idea of what health costs may be incurred if one is covered by S1 :

1. may I ask if anyone knows the best or a good insurance company to use for top-ups in the Narbonne area please? and generally how much would it cost annually or monthly

2. if tests for investigations etc eg bloods, XRays, swabs, investigative procedures etc, are required, how much of the cost will be beared by the patient please

3. if a hospital stay is required, what are the daily costs to the patient likely to be please

Also assuming that if covered by private health insurance, then all the above costs will be covered by insurance company as is the case in UK

Thanks, Amy

[Patf]

For 2 and 3 - most things are covered 60-70% by CPAM, as for french people. But this is a percentage of CPAM's recognised standard cost, and some clinics/doctors etc set their fees higher than that. So so the  reimbursement is less.

An exception is if you have treatment for a condition recognised as ALD (of long duration) that is covered by CPAM 100%, once your doctor has set it up.

Someone else will probably answer about topup - again it's not clearcut. There are many different levels of cover.

Private health insurance - don't know about that, but don't assume anything  to do with health is like the UK.

[woolybanana]

Somewhere I have read that there are over 2000 mutuelles which gives you quite a choice; do research beyond the ones that advertise on TV as they are not always best.

And read the fine print as doubtless Norman will tell you when he comes back for a few minutes from Baabara.

[nomoss]

[quote user="Mrs B"]

Hi there,

This has probably been asked before, if so, apologies but here goes ... We are hoping to make the move but would like an idea of what health costs may be incurred if one is covered by S1 :

1. may I ask if anyone knows the best or a good insurance company to use for top-ups in the Narbonne area please? and generally how much would it cost annually or monthly All or most of the insurance companies offering top-up ("mutuelle") insurance are nationwide. A Google search for "mutuelle" will give you the names of plenty, together with their offices, for a start. I will send a PM with a link to an organisation offering a mutuelle in english, which may be easier to deal with, and there are many brokers who offer an english speaking service.

2. if tests for investigations etc eg bloods, XRays, swabs, investigative procedures etc, are required, how much of the cost will be beared by the patient please Normally 30%, plus a "forfait" of €1 is borne by the patient for each treatment which is charged at the standard ("Tarif de Convention") rates set by the Health Service (usually l'Assurance Maladie), which can be covered by having a mutuelle. Any charges above the standard are borne by the patient, but will be covered by the mutuelle if cover for 150%, 200%, 300% etc. has been contracted. In-patient treatment in public hospitals is charged at the Convention rates, but some specialists may charge more. To get the standard refund for doctor visits one has to register with a doctor who is always used, except if away from home temporarily.

3. if a hospital stay is required, what are the daily costs to the patient likely to be please There is a daily charge for food and accommodation plus charges for treatment, tests, etc.. You can find the charges by hospital and by treatment for in-patients here [url]http://ameli-direct.ameli.fr/[/url]  Many serious operations are in fact free, or have a ceiling fo the patient's share.

Also assuming that if covered by private health insurance, then all the above costs will be covered by insurance company as is the case in UK If you have an S1 you will not require any insurance other than Assurance Maladie plus a mutuelle. The cover by the mutuelle can be chosen to suit your needs and budget, i.e. you can have hospitalisation cover only, and different levels of cover as stated above.

The site for which I will send a link explains the system quite well

Thanks, Amy

[/quote]

[idun]

I hope that you are in receipt of a UK state pension as the S1's will soon no longer be issued for pre retirees.

Check every contract before taking it and remember that 100% cover from a mutuelle  is not sufficient cover, as the figures they use are based on the CPAM amounts which often do not come anywhere near covering one's actual costs. We had 300% for many things. It is complicated that is for sure.

All the figures for all treatment that is reimbursed by the CPAM are on the Ameli web site, naturally in french, but you are moving to France.

[nomoss]

Hi again Amy,

This is just a repeat of what I sent by PM, less the link to insurance company, which is advertising and not allowed here.

To join the AM you take your S1s, passports, and proof of residence

(utility bill) to your local CPAM (Caisse Primaire d'Assurance Maladie -

Main health insurance office) as soon as you are settled here. You will get an "Attestation" printed on an A4

sheet to prove your entitlement, and eventually you will get a card

which most doctors and pharmacies will accept (if they have the machine

to read the card), otherwise you have to take the Attestation. When it

expires you can print one off online once you have created an account on

the website [url]http://www.ameli.fr/[/url]

We have hospital

cover only, up to 300%. So far we have paid a lot less in charges for

doctor visits, out patient treatement, x-rays, blood tests, etc. etc,

and medecine than we would have paid extra for full cover, but we have

been fairly healthy/lucky up to now.

[Mrs B]

Hi Nomoss,

Thanks for the link , I have seen this company before in my previous searches I think and we will certainly be following this up now

Thanks v much also for your kind advice, all of it is so very useful.

Have also attempted to email you to say thanks but the page has not refreshed after I selected the email button so I must have done something wrong

Many thanks again

[Mrs B]

Hi Patf, Woolybanana & idun,

Thank you too for your advice,we will certainly be taking on board and heeding all of it

[tinabee]

If you want to do a bit more research on Top-up costs before committing to a provider, you can enter your details onto this comparison website

http://www.assurland.com/assurance-sante.html

(You may need to copy and paste the link as my browser is not really compatible with this forum.)

On the comparison site you can investigate the potential costs of different levels of cover, and/or different options, e.g. optical/dental, etc.

I would suggest you set up a separate email address in order to register, as you do get quite a lot of promotional materials.

[Pommier]

We're with Myriade, but I also got a good (ie cheap!) quote from ViaSante.

I found that the companies who are on the comparison website weren't very competitive on price.

[Fittersmate]

nomoss - would be grateful if you would send me the link to the organisation offering a mutuelle in english which you mentionned in your reply to Mrs B.

Many thanks

Dani

[nomoss]

PM sent.

[AnOther]

A word of caution when using the comparison sites, once they have your email address they will likely bombard you with all sorts of sh!te so use a disposable one for the purpose.

I inadvisedly let mine slip over 4 years ago and although the torrent eventually abated, partly due to actively unsubscribing where that option existed - not that I had knowingly subscribed to any of them in the first place - and also by creating filters to send them directly to hell (AKA the trash folder), I still get the odd ones.