kelsey43

Hi new to this site, my husband and I are moving to France and were wondering about health insurance. I am 58 my husband 55. Any advice about costs and prescription charges would be really helpful thanks.

dmu

Welcome to the Forum!
Can't help re (presumably) non-working pre-retiree expats, I'm afraid, but some one will soon come along to advise what papers to get from Newcastle.
I can say that a consultation with a GP costs 23€ and a specialist from 28€ (depending on what he/she does). You pay up-front and 70% of this fee and of most prescriptions is reimbursed afterwards by the Social Security once you've got your Carte Vitale. A top-up insurance called a "Mutuelle" is highly advisable, to reimburse the other 30%. For a couple, this could be up to 150€ per month, depending on what coverage you want.
Once you've reached retirement age, I believe that you'll be automatically eligible for the Carte Vitale, and until then, the reciprocal arrangement between the UK and France will cover you a certain time. As mentioned, some one who's done this will come along to help.

cyrian

Hi
There are loads of threads on healthcare on the forum - use the search facility. [Top right hand corner]
If you are on regular medication then I suggest that you continue to get your medication from the UK until you find your feet in France.
You can get a card from UK which will provide access to french healthcare for 2? years but thereafter you will only be eligible for the french healthcare system by working or when you reach retirement age.
When are you moving and which region have you chosen?

Good luck

TinaBee

If you have been working in the UK you need to apply for an S1 (formerly E106) from the DWP

info here

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthc...ingabroad.aspx

In order to be legally resident in France, you must have comprehensive healthcare cover, either by joining the French system or having full private insurance.

cjm

You might also want to look at this from the FCO
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-...ta=health&pg=5

kelsey43

Thank you all for your help yes I am on regular meds and have an exemption certificate so get my meds free. That being the case health care in France looks as if it could be expensive and complicated so will have to give that some thought now and research. We are seriously thinking of moving to the West Coast - still looking for a good buy but at the same time wanting to be clear and organised about everything before we move - don't want to jump in with two feet and land in a bog! so many people seem to do that these days - and we did once with a business so a lot more careful. So many Brits also seem to be moving back from France and Spain which is also a little disconcerting and not sure why? Always though Britain was expensive to live which is why we would like to retire in France but maybe other countries are no better? Have to do more research on this site. One way or another we will be moving the deciding factor was a vandal shoving an estate agents board through the sunroof of my little car last year! and hubby roaring 'That's it!
Thanks again.

cjm

Kelsey, there are a range of people who post on this Forum, some in employment and with good French, others like myself, technically retired (though I try to freelance) and still working on my French; some live in cities or hamlets like mine. Brits will always go back for a variety of reasons, don't throw in the towel. Do good research and ask questions. Can you seek a deal whereby you can come out to live (without full house contents move) to check it out, say for a year. Being on the ground is the best way to learn I feel. Check out your meds and issues you may have in this respect. UK Govt offices can help here. I can help with some of the west coast comment so PM me if that would help. Yes, food can be quite expensive here but the roundabout is the life you can have. But I can enjoy moules and huitres when in season at very good prices, so you certainly won't starve. You can still get a mid-day meal for about €10,50, starter, main, dessert and cafe, plus a small carafe of wine. I regret not a jot coming to France.

cyrian

I was thinking of a reply when cj's response appeared.
I agree. Try renting somewhere for 6 months or a year without burning your bridges in the UK. You can then behave like residents and not like tourists and see how it works for you. If you are on a long holiday then you are not resident and you can use travel insurance and the EHIC card.
The language and the healthcare are both major issues you need to consider carefully.
France is an expensive country - not only because the prices have risen greatly but also because of the exchange rate vs the £ which has dropped from €1.50 to €1.10-ish.
For this reason, it is not a great time to be buying property in France just now.
Eating out can still be reasonable as stated above and wine is cheaper. Everything else is more expensive.
You also need to consider location.
Will you need to return home to visit family or will they come to visit you?
If so then choose somewhere with a reliable link back to the UK.
We have had a member who was thinking of moving to France from Spain [which he described as the a***hole of Europe] but I think that the french healthcare system was too much of a barrier for him.
Another member was moving from Australia because Oz was even more expensive than France.
It just shows that the grass is not always greener.
Happy browsing on the forum.

kelsey43

I really like your idea of renting in France for a year to see how we go on and at the same time we could rent our house here which would help funds. So thanks for that and yes I will have to take advice about my meds but can't see that stopping us coming over we are really determined on the move. Renting seems like such a good idea to start with it means we won't have to burn our boats until we are sure about everything and we could even try out different areas. Thanks for the advice appreciated.

Ka Ora!

Welcome to the forum, if you get any issues give me a shout.

Im_and_Er

Assuming you can afford to live in France, and I would reckon the cost of that to be broadly equal to UK, Health cover is the single most important factor to consider.

If you have been working then you may be able to get up to 2.5 years of reciprocal cover via an E106 form but once that runs out you will need to take out private insurance until you have been living here for 5 years after which you will be able to join the health service without further qualification.

You mention regular meds though which possibly infers some long term or chronic illness(es) or condition(s) in which case you should be aware that adequate private insurance may prove extremely difficult, if not impossible to secure.

PS: Pardon my manners, welcome to the forum !

TinaBee

If you are just visiting France (i.e. not permanent residents) then you can still visit the doctor and obtain prescriptions, you will need to pay in advance and then reclaim using your EHIC.

To check the cost of your meds, have a look on this site

http://sante-az.aufeminin.com/w/sant...betique-p.html

If they do not show the same brand, you can usually search on active ingredient or a generic name

kelsey43

Thanks everyone for your advice really useful to know

EmilyA

You need to take the comments from im-and-er very seriously. When your S1 / E 106 runs out you would need private cover until you get your UK state pension. If you have medication for a long-term condition then you are very unlikely to get private cover. My OH takes tablets for (very well-controlled)high-blood pressure and we were quoted £4000 pa for cover which did not include heart attack or stroke. Your only other possibility is to work or run a business and pay huge amounts in contributions (cotisations.) France is expensive, the bureaucracy is very difficult to deal with even with fluent French. Sorry to be negative, but have seen so many people go back, having lost a great deal of money. The peace and quiet are wonderful, but for many people it is too quiet, so renting first is a very good idea.

Im_and_Er

To slightly correct a couple of points Emily makes.

You do not need insurance until you reach retirement age, only until you had been here for 5 years. At ages 58 though it's likely that the OP will hit that at about the same time.

The conditional insurance which she speaks of would not be considered adequate as it has to comprehensive and provide cover for all eventualities, in other words absolve the French system from any cost or responsibility.

Unfortunately the system is, as of yet, untested as the earliest anybody nobody will come up for assessment is Nov 2012, 5 years after the the changes which made it necessary to have it.

It would be a tragedy to have laboured for x years under the impression that you were properly insured only to discover on the day that you had not been in the eyes of the French and face having to start all over again.