Millberry

Hi all,

I am new to this forum and to France.

My husband and I are thinking about trying to start a family soon. However I am not sure about how it works in terms of the system here if I've only just moved to France and have not been working here yet. My husband is working in Switzerland and we're living over the border here in France, which adds a certain amount of complications I think. To be honest I'm really unsure about the whole process and would be really interested in any advice that people may have?

TIA.

dmu

Hi, and welcome to the forum!
Can't help, I'm afraid, but there are some "frontalier" members in your position (working in Switzerland, living in France) who'll be able to advise on how they go about healthcare in France when they need it. I imagine there's a reciprocal agreement between the two countries?
From a practical point of view, when you suspect you're pregnant, you consult a Généraliste who will confirm it and set all the Administrative wheels in motion, and refer you to a Gynécologue who will follow you through but who may not necessarily be there for the birth. Mine, for example, wasn't available either time, but I had very competent midwives who knew me from the ante-natal classes.
Hope some of this helps, and don't hesitate to come back with other questions!

Millberry

Thank you so much dmu for your response and the welcome! I will definitely try to see what the situation is with other frontaliers. Do you know anything about whether it would be better for me to try to find work here and "pay into" the system for a while before I think seriously about becoming pregnant? Someone told me that it might affect me if I've not paid tax here for at least 12 months beforehand?

Having only just moved here I'm feeling rather overwhelmed by the different systems!

EuroTrash

Hi. I assme it's healthcare you're thinking about, because there is no child allowance as such for the first child in France.

Not sure how it works with Switzerland. For people who work in the Uk but live in France, their income is taxed in the UK and their healthcare is provided by France but paid for from the UK. So there wouldn't be any issues - for all practical purposes you would be entitled to all the same benefits as any other person in the French health system, on the same conditions, but behind the scenes France would be reclaiming money from the UK.

However it might be different for workers in CH.

But how do you get your healthcare at the moment? Do you not have carte vitales? I assume ante natal/post natal care would come under whatever healthcare arrangements you have in place at the moment.

There are also various grants given to new mothers, you would need to ask CAF about this.

Millberry

Thanks EuroTrash for your reply. At the moment we have private health insurance with Bupa International which covers ante/post natal care after 10months then in the summer a new rule is possibly coming in (apparently?) where we will be transferred over to the CMU system.

Sorry to ask a silly question but what does CAF stand for? I don't know what a carte vitale is.....maybe its something that we're not entitled to as my husband works in CH?

dmu

Hi again, if your OH is working in Switzerland, then it's doubtful you'd be eligible for the CMU (free healthcare coverage for people with low-income).
CAF is the Caisse d'Allocations Familiales (Family Allowances) which will receive your dossier as soon as your pregnancy is officially declared. As mentioned, you won't actually get any Family Allowances as such until Child No. 2, but you'll get a few financial perks during pregnancy and just after the birth (I think!) provided you do all the regulation tests. The Carte Vitale is what you get when you're in the French Social Security System.
Be aware that if you're lucky enough to find a salaried job and quickly become pregnant, you wouldn't be very popular with your boss. With the exorbitant social charges that companies have to pay, an employee is an investment and several months' maternity leave shortly after arrival wouldn't be appreciated!

Millberry

Hi again dmu,

I appreciate your reply. I completely understand that taking a job and then disappearing off on maternity leave shortly after would be the wrong thing to do. If I were to get a job then it would certainly put my family planning on hold so that I could make the most of being employed, both for myself and for my employer. I suppose I was concerned about whether I would actually be entitled to healthcare here even if I haven't worked but it seems that perhaps that isn't an issue.

Apparently in terms of the CMU ,they are considering bringing this law in next year for frontaliers who live in France but work in Switzerland. I'm not sure exactly the reasons.

Thank you for explaining the CAF and the Carte Vitale. I am in the process of registering in our village etc so we should be "in the system" soon!

EuroTrash

There are 2 levels of CMU, CMU-B and CMU-C. CMU-B or CMU de Base is the contributory scheme designed to ensure that everybody in France and who is entitled to State healthcare, can join the scheme and pay (fairly high) contributions as a percentage of income. CMU-C or CMU Complémentaire is free health cover for people on low incomes.

You might also want to look into the situation as regards CSG, which is an extra tax on income. I'm not really up to speed with this but I think that as long as you are not directly 'in' the CMU system you're not liable for CSG, but if you were in CMU your husband would be liable for CSG on his earnings from Switzerland. So you need to do the maths - CMU contributions, plus the cost of a mutuelle, plus CSG tax, might all add up to more than the annual cost of your BUPA policy.

Millberry

Yes EuroTrash, I think the plan that's being put forward is that frontaliers will pay a percentage, possibly 10% into the CMU system - so I guess that would be the CMU-C?

I've not heard about CSG yet, will definitely look into it. With regards to our private health insurance, if it all adds up considerably then we will have to cancel our cover with BUPA.

Another question - you mention a mutuelle, what does that mean?

EuroTrash

That would be CMU-B. CMU-C is for people who can't afford to contribute.

French state healthcare only pays for part of the cost of treatment, usually around 70 per cent. You have to fund the rest yourself, so a lot of people take out a top-up health policy with a 'mutuelle' to pay some or all of the remaining costs. Mutuelles offer a range of policies. For instance you can get an all singing all dancing policy that will cover specialist consultants fees, teeth, eyes and the lot and you will never have to pay out another cent; or you can get a basic mutuelle that just covers hospital treatment and you pay 30 per cent of most everything else; or you can go for something in between.

Millberry

Oh yes, sorry, I meant CMU-B.

Ok thanks for clearing that up, it's like an "excess" that we would pay in the UK.

EuroTrash

Dunno - I don't recall ever paying an 'excess' in the UK...

For instance, a visit to the doc in France costs 23€. If you don't have anything beyond normal state cover, you get 70 per cent of that reimbursed so it costs you 7€ or so out of your own pocket each time you visit the doc. If you had full top up, you would get it all reimbursed, give or take a euro. Same for any other medical treatment - blood tests, routine ops, whatever.

I don't think the state helps at all with optical or dental.

Can't help with actual figures cos I make a point of not being ill but that's what I expect to happen when I do start to fall to pieces. Somebody tell me if I'm wrong

Millberry

Yes, sorry, I meant its the same as an excess for things like car insurance etc where you pay the first certain amount.

Ok, well up until the point where we have to pay into the CMU then we'll stick with BUPA and then we'll have to adjust our cover accordingly I guess! It's a complicated beast this re-locating business!!

Chatter Static

They do but it's just not that good in relation to the somewhat excessive charges made. There are set fee's for certain procedures like root canals, dental hygiene extra, basic fillings which get picked up by the state and top up cover but it's all the other little bits which add up like opting for enamel instead of amalgam etc. The dentist we have used here until now'ish really drags out the work so that it is accomplished over as many visits as possible. Personally I find ophthalmologist a tad backwards wandering into some is like borrowing a Delorean for a day.

Millberry

Heh, good to know! Thanks Chatter Static - honestly I feel very "green" about how it all works here that any insight into the systems is so useful.