health benifits for retires

[Chrisbri]

we have scanned though the healthcare topics and are confused about what benifits we can receive in France when we move there next year.
We will have full UK pension and will have worked up to retirement age. What we would like to know is what free medical benifits will we receive as pensioners,will it be the same as England.

[Val_2]

I am a long way from retirement but I do have many elderley english friends who have lived here a long time and they enjoy a full scope of medical treatments here. What you must do is take out a top up Mutuelle insurance to pay the other half of the CAPM input or else you will find it prohibitive. When I see my friends and here they have been for their monthly tablets, chiropodist visit, breast screen for her, back man for him and much more and all paid for because they paid the full stamp upto retirement in the UK and then came here. Your office at Newcastle and the french CAPM will inform you of your rights,but do get them sorted out before you leave the UK.

[Chrissie]

You should find that about 70% of most treatments/drugs will be covered by the CPAM. Also such things as ambulance rides and medical equipment (crutches, bandages) providing they are issued against a doctor's prescription.
You should arrange for a "mutuelle" top-up insurance for the balance and let the CPAM have details of this when you go to register with them (also taking appropriate forms from Newcastle etc). The refunds will then come automatically to your French bank account from both the CPAM and the mutuelle. A similar system operates if you register with your local pharmacy and then you will not have to pay for (most) medications bought there
at all, and all the forms will be sent off by them automatically.
Hope this helps.
Chrissie
(81)

[Owen]

I would like to confirm and expand on the comments by Lautrec. There are people who think that because France is in the EU then Brits moving here retain the same rights to healthcare as they would in the UK. This is emphatically not the case. The purpose of reciprocal agreements eg via E Forms, is that an EU national will be treated the same as the native of his adopted country. You do not receive free prescriptions in France just because you are a pensioner as is the case in the UK The French health system is a contributory one. Affiliation via E121 will cover a good percentage of your costs. The figure of 70% is a decent guideline but it can be more and can be less depending on the treatment received. It is for this reason why most French residents take out a complementary insurance to cover the difference. There is a wide range of such policies on the market. Lautrecs does not cover dental or specs but such cover is available but of course you will pay extra. But shop around. The key point is that on coming to France you need to include in your annual budget a contribution to your healthcare.

Peter Owen
[email protected]