Cancer and a move to France

[Later]

We are in the UK.  My wife (38) is undergoing treatment for cervical cancer (and seems to be winning, she should be in the clear in the new year - fingers crossed). 

We have been thinking about moving to SW France on and off for about three years.  It has recently dawned on us that she (we) now have a pre-existing (is that the term?) medical condition.

What are the implications of this for a life in France and in particular in terms of medical treatment and health insurance?  I read on this forum that most top-up insurance packages exclude pre-existing conditions.  Does this mean we would have to pay out of our own pockets, if, heaven forbid, the nasty little beast reappeared in a few years time?  Or could we rely upon the state system to look after us (providing we have paid our dues to the state etc etc).

BTW the NHS has been extremely good and pretty fast.  We are very impressed.

Also, I don't understand why, if the state system is so good, one should need top-up insurance.

[Teamedup]

Why do you need a top up.

Well because the government will only reimburse a percentage of the treatment. And this isn't that simple either. The government set limits for reimbursements and the medical folks etc can charge more than the allocated amount, not all of them, but some of them. Then it will depend on your top up as to whether they will reimburse over the amount the government allows which will  make it up to the 100% or up to say 400%, to cover all your costs.

And when it doesn't quite work .......... EG: My accupuncturist is a GP. He charges 36 euros for accupuncture. In the past the SS and mutualist have reimbursed me up to the 20 euros a GP is allowed. However, the rules have recently changed and the SS's tarif is up to around 12 euros of which they pay a percentage. So I pay out 36 euros, the SS give me a percentage of 12 euros and the mutualist make the sum up to 12 euros and the rest we have to pay.

 

And when it sort of works, ie for getting crowns or glasses. The government don't pay out much, but then it will depend on the mulitple of the reimbursement that the mutualist will give a person as to how much they will get back and that will depend on how good a contract one has, and a good one will  be more expensive.

 

Clear as mud I know.

 

 

However, I would still say that for those of us with families then it is worth having a mutualist.

 

 

 

[Later]

Right that is clearer.  So if me wif was revisited by the dreaded "thing", we would have to pay out above and beyond the fees covered by the state if (i) the state didn't cover the entire cost (which I guess is likely to be the case) and (ii) the top-up insurance did'nt cover the pre-existing condition.  That could necessitate us upping sticks and scarpering back to blightly.

[Teamedup]

I would hope that a cancer was covered fully, if it reoccured. ......... Owen hopefully will clear the waters a little re preexisting conditions.

Also, that isn't the full story, and there would be more than one person in the household too....... so you would need a mutualist. And if say someone with cancer caught flu or broke a leg, then that would be a separate health issue.

 

[Later]

I hadn't considered things in this light.  In fact on a positive note, things could be worse.  My wife could have cancer, the flu and a broken leg.  Now that would be pretty miserable.  I can see the regional news headline now: Cancer Sufferer with Flu Breaks Leg after Violent Sneaze.   

[Teamedup]

Sadly cancer is not the only disease out there that can be mortal. There are maladies that they can do little about and certainly can't cure, and having these things doesn't exclude all other illnesses or breakages I'm afraid, we know about such things in our family.

[Val_2]

Later. Please don't take this the wrong way BUT by your own admission some two weeks back you confessed to being the person behind the "Don't Move to France" website after some personal problems you encountered trying to buying property here forced you to change your plans. You published a lot of info on that site so I just don't understand why you are asking this question on here when your site should have mentioned all this stuff. I would also be interested to know now why or what has caused you to suddenly change your minds and decide to have another go at french living AND this is not meant unkindly, just that I and many others got the impression from the site that you were off France and all things french for ever. I do wish your wife a speedy recovery from cancer as having a brother in law who underwent two years of intensive treatment know what you must be going through as a family.

[Later]

[quote]Later. Please don't take this the wrong way BUT by your own admission some two weeks back you confessed to being the person behind the "Don't Move to France" website after some personal problems you e...[/quote]

Good question.  Damn I thought nobody would notice .  Actually although my wife and I wrote the website together, we divided the "don't move" sections so we did half each.  Harriet did eg health, tax and education and I did all the nonsense bits about eye gouging rugby players, economics and so on ... but that's a cop out.

Harriet is sleeping for England most of the time (chemo), so I can't just turn to her to discuss things ... the LF website provides that forum in a literal sense.  Anyway first thing this morning when I thought I would impress her with my new-found knowledge she gave me short shrift telling me that we already knew that ... etc etc and some of it is on the website ... perhaps I should go back and re-read the bits she wrote.  Being a bit thick n'all it clearly takes several goes to get this sort of thing stuck in my head.

We certainly don't pretend to be all knowing about France.  I am learning a lot on this website just through lurking.  There is a lot of really good stuff in here, if people take the time to read it.  It should be compulsory for people planning to move to France.

I never said don't move to France, I said don't move to France until you've done your homework.  I'm very sceptical about people who wear rose tinted glasses when it comes to France and all things French (or any other country for that matter).  

My wife is off the idea of moving to France, apart from the obvious disctraction in her life at present, she has decided she quite likes Blighty.

I'm very open to a move to France.   Definitely not off France forever, just don't want to go there and be disappointed, lose my shirt, decide it was not what we expected it to be etc etc.  It may not seem like it, but in my opinion it still has to be one of the best places in the world to live, provided you know what you're getting yourself into and you have low expectations.

Many thanks for your kind wishes.

[Owen]

Hello,

I can understand why you have been thinking about moving to France for as long as you have. You appear to be planning your move to France, and healthcare provision in particular, on the basis of heresay, personal views on internet sites and general gossip. Three years later you seem no further forward and you are certainly ill-informed reference the health system here. I suggest you check your sources more thoroughly. From where you got this rubbish about "top up insurance packages exclude pre-existing conditions" beggars belief. You should have no problem finding complementary insurance at all including any future treatment for cancer. Actually cancer is one of the "affections" that can qualify for 100% cover. Your last paragraph stating "don't understand why, if the state system is so good, one should need top-up insurance". quite simply illustrates your ignorance of how healthcare is organised and funded in France. Although, as stated above, certain conditions can qualify for 100% cover, a fundamental principle of healthcare funding in France is that of a personal contribution. I would have thought that you could have been able to establish this in 3 years. It would not therefore have come as a surprise to you that most French residents take out a complementary insurance to cover any shortfall.

Regards

Peter Owen

pjowen@expathealthdirect.co.uk

[Later]

Well Peter Owen thank you for that constructive response designed to foster open and uninhibited dialogue (were you in the army by any chance?).  Looking at your email address I suspect that French healthcare would be your thing then.  I would ask if I could put your link on my site, but you seem like an unpleasant person and I shan't and I hope anyone who reads this post avoids you like the plague.  Heaven forbid they should ask questions for fear of being made to look like a complete plonker. 

For me one of the most confusing aspects of trying to understand the issues facing a move to France is that there is so much conflicting information. 

Grrrr (and other rude words deleted voluntarily by the writer)  

 

[Russethouse]

>>Peter Owen, iIf you're based in France, I hope the crippling costs of running a business there put you out of business before your shoddy treatment of prospective customers does. grrrr<<<

Later, I understand the reasons for your reply, but I sincerely hope that Peter does not go out of business! He is a very much valued member of the forum and has given sound advice to countless people, including those literally at their wits end.

I think your web site was valuable in pointing out the minuses as well as the pluses of moving to France and read that you would be happy to correct any inaccuracies ?

I wish your wife a complete and speedy recovery, and good wishes to you too - being the carer can be hard !

[Later]

Peter

Apologies, I am feeling a bit wobbly - this cancer thing is all a bit much and my fuse is too short.  I have received some very nice private emails suggesting that actually you are one of the good guys.  So I shall get back in my box and take back my grrr.  If you're not too hostile to the idea, perhaps you could make some suggestions about how I could make website more helpful to people ... remove inaccuracies etc etc

   

[Iceni]

Hi Later

Peter is one of the good guys and I have top-up insurance with a similar though not so severe history as your wife. Peter proved invaluable when we were looking into the move and his advice was so professional I was truly impressed.

I can understand why you are 'wibbly and 'wobbly' at the moment and wish your wife a speedy recovery and you as the carer the strength and ability to cope, neither situation is good but as the saying goes 'even this will pass'.

Take care and perhaps one day we can invite you round for drinks when you make it over.