help with mutuelle
 

hello ... does anyone have experience in finding the best provider for mutuelle cover ?
I didn't see any previous reference to this on the forum(s)

There are several comparison websites ... and I have looked at a number of them but I guess the trick is knowing what you actually need when you have no experience of this type of healthcare.
Thankfully at 69 1/2 I can still jog 5m/8km in >1 hour so am reasonably fit and no recent problems, same for my wife.
How do you work out what is the best deal without spending too much ?
Any ideas ?
Roger

Re: help with mutuelle
 

First of all make a list of what you need at the moment eg glasses medication teeth etc Then think what you may need eg emergency cover in hospital visits to GP etc Then think what you do not need but might in the future Note that it is always possible to upgrade your mutuelle mid policy

I use Aviva Santhia senior and have been pleased with price and service

https://www.aviva.fr/particulier/ass...te-senior.html

What you are looking at doing is filling the gap between what CPAM pays and the medical profession charges
Do you understand the way the per centage system works?

Re: help with mutuelle
 

There may be something of interest to you further down on THIS post. Bottom line is shop around for different quotes and compare carefully.

Re: help with mutuelle
 

As others have said, nobody else can really help you with what you need. They can tell you what they feel they need, but it's a personal thing - depends on your state of health, your attitude to doctors and medicine (are you proactive about your health, are consultations part of your life or do you trust in nature only seek help when it's absolutely necessary) your finances, and your attitude to risk- taking. You can pay a lot more for the peace of mind of knowing that everything is covered and you needn't hesitate in getting treatment. Or you can pay less, you can even pay nothing at all and not have a mutuelle, knowing that you could potentially end up with a big bill but with a bit of luck you won't and you will have avoided wasting a considerable amount of money. There's no right and wrong answer, only what's right for you. That's why there's such a wide range of policies, it's not one size fits all.

Re: help with mutuelle
 

You may be in good physical shape but you are still liable to accidents and age-related disorders.
A friend of mine used to jog like you every day until he developed a stress fracture which required physiotherapy.
Would you go on holiday without travel insurance?
As advised, compare the cover from various companies to get the best cover for your situation.

Re: help with mutuelle
 

Well I have done, many times :lol: and I don't suppose I'm the only one that has.

Re: help with mutuelle
 

Yes and many have done so and suffered the unexpected consequences.
My BIL who is arounfd the age of the OP has just been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
S**t happens.

Re: help with mutuelle
 

Absolutely. My point was just that everyone makes their own decisions - what seems a no-brainer to one person, might not be what the next person would choose.
My brother always kept fit, in fact he put me to shame with his jogging and stuff, he was 10 years older than me but I expected him to easily see me off. Then a week short of his 70th birthday he had a heart attack and collapsed while on his regular Park Run one Sunday morning. He died in the ambulance on the way to hospital. Like you say, sh1te happens..

Re: help with mutuelle
 

Bear in mind, though, that cancer, and other ADLs (Long-Term Ailments), is covered 100% by the French Social Security.
One can do without a Mutuelle, but the risk of paying out 30% of, for example, GP consultations, medicines, blood tests, X-rays, physio sessions, private room in a hospital, etc... over the year, might make it worthwhile to take out a Mutuelle. I haven't mentioned false teeth and spectacles, as, like the CPAM, most Mutuelles reimburse peanuts. As said, being fit now doesn't exclude accidents and the unexpected ...
I can't recommend mine which I've had for decades (they didn't reduce the annual premium by half when OH died, but they might all be like that), otherwise I'd recommend starting with my House/Car Insurance Agents and comparing with other high-street Insurance Companies, or, if the OP lives in a rural area, asking at the Mairie whether there's a "Mutuelle de mon Village" in the area. There's one in my neck of the woods, which offers comparable premiums/coverage...
HTH

Re: help with mutuelle
 

Yes exactly, but the point is that older people are more likely to develop medical conditions which they have not previously experienced.

Re: help with mutuelle
 

I don't think anyone would dispute that.
But it's still an individual choice as to what level of mutelle cover you decide to take out, or even whether to take any out at all.
As dmu says, emergency treatment and many of the most serious long-term conditions are covered 100%
I'm not at all encouraging the OP not to take out cover, my point was simply that what you feel you "need" is a personal decision. Taking out a certain level of cover because that's what someone else decided to do, isn't the way to do it. A lot of newcomers are under the impression that it's obligatory to have a mutuelle. It isn't.

Re: help with mutuelle
 

I havent disagreed with anything you have said but there are costs in France that would be a surprise for an expat.
As dmu pointed out, dental care and eye care.
With comprehensive Mutuelle cover there are a wider range of hospitals and consultants to choose from.
I would suggest that at least initially it would be prudent to have a reasonable level of cover which can be fine-tuned as the OP becomes more familiar with the system.

Re: help with mutuelle
 

Plus of course some mutuelles will cover unexpected things such as "home help" and cleaning when you come out of hospital or the taxi ride for treatment or follow ups at the hospital

Re: help with mutuelle
 

I agree!
Lived in France for more than 18 years with a mutuelle. I was relatively young at that time.
I live in Portugal now, but will go back to France in a couple of years. One of the main reasons: the excellent health care!
We plan not to take a mutuelle. The mutuelle with a 100% coverage is not good enough for us. So when I look at prices of a mutuelle of 200/300%, the price for 2 people will be around 2,800/ 3,000 a year.
This a a personal choice and not a good choice for everybody.

Our choice is based on what we know about the charges. If you have a chronic disease (already mentioned here) you don't pay anything. And when you need to have expensive check-ups, there is a maximum that you pay. For me this is reasonable but for others it is not.

Here you can read what happens if you need to have expensive medical check-ups: https://spbfamily.eu/assurance-malad...24%20%E2%82%AC.

This means; when the 'actes medicales' cost 120 or more you only pay 24 eur!!!!!!