Carte Vitale blocked

[Araucaria]

Funny day today. I went down to the pharmacy for some meds, and the pharmacist, a helpful woman who I know well, said my Carte Vitale was coming up as "invalid". She'd tried cleaning the chip, and then entered the details on the computer. No, it was "annulé". And what's more, so was my wife's (I'm piggybacked on her E121 as I'm not yet 65).

So off we both went to the CPAM in Aurillac. When we eventually reached a fonctionnaire with a computer, we got one of those explanations that explained nothing. Yes, it was right. No, there was nothing wrong. It was because of the old system. In fact, our cards had been invalid since 30 November - we just hadn't tried to have them "mise a jour". The fact that my wife had (succesfully) picked up her meds at the pharmacy last Friday just showed that the pharmacist was negligent in checking our cards.

It was because we were migrants. It was a check that was done every three years. It was different now. Shouldn't we have received some notification that our cards had been made invalid? No, that wasn't how it was done: you find out when you're refused. It wasn't because we are migrants: it works the same for French people like her. How often does this happen? Aren't the cards for life? Yes, they are, and you shouldn't have it happen again - unless your country of origin stops making the payments. That's unlikely isn't it? Yes, it's unlikely. They hadn't stopped this time.

What should we do now? Nothing. She would just unblock the cards. Tap-tap for five minutes. Madame, your card is OK, you can continue to use it. Monsieur - because the pharmacist tried to make your card "mise a jour" it's now fully de-activated. Give it to me. Tapes it to a piece of paper printed out from the computer, and tosses it into a basket. You'll have to apply for a new one. Yes, I'll give you an attestation (it gets printed out). Here you go.

Will they send me a new card? No: you'll soon get a formulaire in the post: fill it out, new photographs, and send it back. Then you'll have you new card. Have a nice day!

[NormanH]

By co-incidence I heard of a similar thing at lunch today.

Apparently there has been a major bug in the system (in our CPAM anyway, I can't speak for others) and half the cardholders' records have been wiped. In the case of the family I was talking to it concerned the father and one of the sons, but not the other son or the mother.

The two whose cards are now invalid have to provide a new paper-trail even though it isn't their fault and they have been in the system for life.

They also only found out when they went to the pharmacy, but the son whose card is no longer recognised has just had a minor operation and has a nurse coming to change the dressing each day.

When the mother asked what to do about the nurse's payment she was told to mettez vous en contentieux, effectively 'don't pay her and wait for her to sue'!

I am astonished that  if this account is true (and I have no reason to doubt the story as they are very reliable people) that it hasn't been widely publicised.

Your post makes me wonder if it isn't more widespread than is generally realised..

I would recommend people to update their cartes vitales  next time you pass the pharmacy, just in case you have been a victim of this, as you don't want to find yourself with a dud card in an emergency.

[nomoss]

There is a topic running on another forum on this subject.

http://www.france-forum-frenchentree.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=132287&p=1167448&hilit=cpam#p1167448

A contributor who seems to have a connection with the relevant authority denies there is any bug.

[NormanH]

I can't comment on  that post as I am banned from that Forum, but the French  woman whose family were affected was simply repeating what she had been told this morning at the CPAM.

In any case I will stick my neck out and say that there are many contributers there more remarkable for their confidence than their competence [6]

The same story is in the Picardy newpaper, so perhaps Chancer will be able to check it out?

http://www.courrier-picard.fr/courrier/Actualites/Info-regionale/Bug-leur-carte-Vitale-les-a-laches

[nomoss]

[quote user="NormanH"]I can't comment on  that post as I am banned from that Forum,

[/quote]

You can read posts though, can't you?

 

Anyway, we just nipped out to the pharmacie down the road and updated our cards with no problem. The young lady there said she had no idea how often this is necessary, and had heard nothing about any informatique problems with l'Assurance Maladie.

 

 

 

[NormanH]

No it won't let me in at all.

As said in the article above it seems a bug with updating from 2012 to 2013

http://www.courrier-picard.fr/courrier/Actualites/Info-regionale/Bug-leur-carte-Vitale-les-a-laches

La Caisse nationale analyse le problème qui est plus aigu chez les

pharmaciens. « C’est la conjonction de deux phénomènes : des traitements

de masse renouvelant automatiquement les droits n’ont pas fonctionné.

Ces erreurs sont détecteés dans les officines depuis le 1er janvier

parce que la nouvelle version de leurs lecteurs de carte leur fournit en

temps réel l’état des droits du porteur » explique Marc Azam.

« Les traitements de masse vont être relancés au niveau national et 98 %

des situations d’anomalie seront réparées dans les prochains jours »

poursuit le fonctionnaire.

And see also:

http://picardie.france3.fr/2013/01/11/gros-bug-des-cartes-vitales-dans-l-oise-178513.html

I really don't see who on any anglophone Forum could be arrogant enough to deny the words of the spokesman for

La Caisse nationale, but apparently that is the case over there [:D]

It is not the case with all cards, which will fuel the debate ..

[Araucaria]

Small update.

As far as I know, I'm not being asked to go through the original paper-trail again. My wife is the person who is insured in France, and CPAM say her card is (now) OK. We've not tested it. I'll just have to pay for new photographs and fill in a fairly simple form - I remember it from the last time. The old photo was, well, interesting. It looked just a bit too much like me.

The "software upgrade" story has the ring of truth in my view. Our pharmacist hadn't heard anything about it, but when I went back and told her what had happened (and mentioned the fonctionnaire at CPAM saying she must have been negligent in not checking the cards properly between 31 November and now), she rolled her eyes and said "l'administration francaise!" as if that explained everything.

I'm guessing that in the last day or so our cards were retrospectively cancelled as of 31 November 2012. The pharmacist was sure they working fine for the last couple of months. And who do you think I believe?

[NormanH]

"As far as I know, I'm not being asked to go through the original paper-trail again."

I have checked with the family I referred to and you are right. They have to provide 3 months bulletins de salaire (the same as for the lady in the video in the post above) which is a bit rich since it is none of their fault..

[Pommier]

[quote user="NormanH"]
I really don't see who on any anglophone Forum could be arrogant enough to deny the words of the spokesman for
La Caisse nationale, but apparently that is the case over there [:D]

[/quote]

It's someone who says that they work for CPAM and who had joined the forum to try and help anyone with problems with CPAM.

[NormanH]

Strange ignorance of what Marc-André Azam, directeur de la Caisse primaire was saying then [8-)]

[nomoss]

Left hand and right hand maybe?

[Chancer]

[quote user="NormanH"] I have checked with the family I referred to and you are right. They have to provide 3 months bulletins de salaire (the same as for the lady in the video in the post above) which is a bit rich since it is none of their fault..
[/quote]

You have to admire the pragmatic way that l'administration Française deals with a minor hiccup, talk about making a drama out of a crisis, its not as if any of them have to carry on pretending to be completement debordé under the current government.

Norman its a pity I didnt see your posting earlier as I had a consultation chez le médécin this evening, I would have asked him.

[Gardian]

All this lark put the wind up me and I popped in to the pharmacie this evening and got our CV's mise a jour.  Both OK (they said).

It reminds me of what happened to us a couple of years ago. Mrs G's ALD had come up for renewal: this was news to us, but not uncommonly we now realise, they're often only set for 5 years. Fine enough and not wholly unreasonable, but you'd think that 'the system' would generate some kind of re-assessment paperwork, say 3 months before the expiry date.

But no: so all of a sudden her CV is downgraded and its panic visits to our GP (major surprise to her), and requests for a rapid turnround of the ALD documentation. It was all OK in the end, but what a drama.   

[NormanH]

I believe you are supposed to do that every year in any case.

I totally agree about the 5 years ALD situation. My first one was more than 5 years ago, but they were all put together and renewed 3 years ago. It is quite a headache to keep track even for me, but for some older and more confused people it must be a nightmare.