bobbi2

Does anyone use international private health cover in France, if so any recommendations?Anyone tried and tested BUPA and AXA PPP or similar...... advice on this gratefully received.
Also with private health insurance how does it work with hospital treatment on a private basis? Do you go to private hospitals, or is this done differently than the UK?

cyrian

Sorry no experience of using private healthcare in France.
However, if you attend a hospital in most countries you need to show your entitlement. In France that would be your Carte Vitale. In the absence of a Carte Vitale then it would be proof of entitlement to treatment or who would be paying the bill.
This might be your EHIC card or a credit card or an insurer.
Normally if you have private or holiday insurance then you would contact your insurer and they would arrange direct with the hospital with respect to necessary treatment and payment.
Hopefully someone will have practical experience and offer the advice you need.
Private insurers may require you to seek treatment with your EHIC card in the first instance - check the conditions.
Good luck

Ka Ora!

There are private hospitals in France, But after you have been in a normal public one you will find little need for the private ones.

I have no experience of Private Insurance but a post with a couple links

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showp...19&postcount=2

bobbi2

i was only looking at private health cover as I ( at present), cannot go onto my husbands mutual health as I am working for a UK company and there seems to be alot of confusion with the CPAM office whether I can get a carte vitale. I am waiting for my employer to sort this out with NI in the UK but for now, need to be sure I am covered sufficienly in France.
I am looking at private healh cover on a temporary basis, as I am unsure how long I an use an EHIC card in France. We still have a home in the UK. Could I use my EHIC card and IF I needed treatment, note that down on any documentation?

dennerlymum

It can be very tricky getting a CVitale; and it can take a while for an E101, or modern equivalent to be issued to an English company on your behalf...
While waiting you could pay up front and keep the brown forms you will be given as proof for a back dated claim later...
However this doesnt solve immediate emergencies... for this maybe a EHIC card would be ok; I forget how long you can use one for...

Peabrain

Hi,
There is a widespread theory, which holds water, that if you're young and have no 'pre-existing conditions' then go without health care, put the money you've saved into a separate account, and, should you ever need health care, use that. It might not match the cost of an operation, but then private health care cover here will often leave the patient to pick up a small part of the tab. And should you need to see a GP, it's 23 euros, not a big deal. Dental work or glasses you can get in the UK.
As regards private hospitals, the situation isn't the same as in the UK, where there are private hospitals for those with private insurance, but for those without, either they don't use them, or they pay the full whack. Here the private sector is part and parcel of the health care system; an idea dear to the unlamented T. Blair. If you go to a public hospital with a carte vitale, you will pay nothing apart from perhaps the telly and what is known as the forfait journalier, covering the hotel side. If you go to a private hospital, the same applies, IF you have a mutuelle (private insurance) and if you have previously got une prise en charge from them which is a guarantee of how far they will cough up to cover the cost.
One on-going issue over here are the "dépassements d'honoraires" practiced by most specialists. Basically they decide what they're going to charge the patient, above the tariff authorized by the Sécurité sociale, and which governs the amount the patient is reimbursed. It's up to the patient, again to negotiate with his mutuelle to see how much of this it will cover. Doctors over here are more business men and women than doctors, and charge what they think they can get away with. The is no eoconomic crisis for some. Last year I was operated on by a very good surgeon in Lyon, who charged 1,000 euros for an operation that the Sécu. reimburses on the basis of 500. Fair enough, he drew up a contract; no problem. However, the anesthetist bumped up his 200 euros to 600. The surgeon was furious, as was I, especially as the anesthetist had reassured me that I would only be out of pocket to the tune of 80 euros. It was more like 300. I broke my wrist a couple of years back, and at the surgeon's reception desk was a clear notice listing the dépassements; 275 was for a canal carpien.
If I were you, I shouldn't worry, if you're young and in good health. If you had an accident, then presumably your insurance would pay.
And don't forget, medical care over here, if you need to pay, is cheaper than in the UK. Way back when the much lamented franc was our national currency, I needed a scan. My mother, whom the NHS allowed to die of cancer, needed exactly the same one. After waiting for 9 months, she had it done in a BUPA hospital at a cost of £1,800. After picking up the phone and getting an appointment straight away, I waited altogether 30 minutes, and had mine at a cost of 550 francs.
Sorry for rabbiting on,
PB

TinaBee

There is a company which specialises in this situation, i.e. will give you cover for France whilst you are in the process of registering or getting the paperwork sorted.

http://www.exclusivehealthcare.com/index.php

Im_and_Er

Two points, based on a couple of assumptions until we know more.

1. If you are French resident then you cannot use a UK EHIC in France - period.

2. Joining CPAM is nothing to do with your UK employer nor do you need an E101, that is only appropriate for a UK employee being posted to work in France (which I'm assuming is not your case), so don't you waste time or money waiting for them to sort something out which they can't do and which is your job anyway.

In your circumstances, living in France but working for a UK employer and paying NI, to join CPAM in your own right you need what is know as a 'workers' E106 which is issued by HMRC not DWP.

Basically the qualifying criteria is the same as for a normal E106, your NI record for the past 2 full UK tax years however, if you qualify then the workers version is renewable indefinitely on an annual basis on it's anniversary, assuming your circumstances do not change that is. If you cease employment then you will still be entitled to a normal E106 for up to 2.5 years afterwards.

If your NI record is insufficient for you to qualify for an E106 of either sort then unfortunately private insurance will be your only option.

Please correct me if I have mis-read your circumstances or assumed incorrectly.

bobbi2

The E106 form is for international transport workers who work in 2 or more countries. If you read some of the literature this doesn't apply to my situation, but I have tried to submit an E101 form as this seems the most consistant information I am getting. No matter who I speak to in France or the UK, everyone comes up with a different information which leaves the whole thing very confusing indeed. Will see what happens on the back of that, and in the meantime look at a private health insurance or a top up policy to be safe for now.

Im_and_Er

I can't help feeling that there is something you haven't mentioned as it really shouldn't be so complicated so let's start with the basics.

Are you a UK PAYE employee who has chosen to live in France but returns to UK on a regular basis to perform work - if not then what do you do ?

bobbi2

My husband has accepted a job on a french contract. I was going to hand in my notice at work but because of what I do they felt I was to valuable to lose. I was then offered the opportunity to stay on and work remotely (from France) 2 days a week but am paid in Uk sterling, into a UK account and employed by a UK company. Nothing more than that. i do not have to return to the UK for work, I purely do this from France. i have found it hard to explain to the CPAM office, due to language barriers. My husband has gone straght on to the french system no problem. We moved to France because of my husbands job. I am well up on my NI contributions as well, so this shouldn't be a complicated matter, and i have nothing to hide.

Im_and_Er

I didn't say you were hiding anything but all is now clear, you are working illegally, sorry but that is all there is too it.

You simply cannot do what you are doing, if you work in Frence, even for a UK company, you have to do it through a formal French company of some sort.

bobbi2

People move to France all the time and work for UK companies remotely, you hear and read about it all the time. Especially people who maybe commute to the UK from northern France for work, so this is not a totally alien situation. The CPAM office certainly haven't said this, even speaking to the english speaking line, and I would have thought they would have been the first to raise this if it was a problem. CPAM have just said it may prove a problem getting a social security number for now, and to go on to private cover for the short term until the relevant forms have been applied for.
With respect I would not give any job up without getting professional advice on the matter from the UK and France......which I am doing.

Im_and_Er

I'm sure you appreciate that just because lot's of people do something does not make it right, proper, or legal and commuting to UK to work is a completely different situation altogether which is why I asked you to clarify the point.

You are wise to seek professional advice but there is no getting away from the fact that you cannot legally work in France as you do.

I recall now that we have discussed this before:-

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=715371

I get a sense that you may have already convinced yourself and will keep asking the question until you get the answers you want to hear so I'll bow out and wish you the best of luck.

TinaBee

Hi
You may be covered as a "posted worker" for a limited period of time

Info here
http://ec.europa.eu/youreurope/citiz...d/index_en.htm