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Medical treatment abroad - France

Emergency

Call 112

Contact

Centre des Liaisons Européennes et Internationales de Sécurité Sociale (CLEISS)
Provides detailed information in French, English, Spanish, German, Italian and Portuguese.
Tel: +33 1 45 26 33 41
E-mail: webmestre@cleiss.fr

Treatment & costs

Doctors

• You should consult a doctor who is registered with the state healthcare provider in France (conventionné).
• ‘Conventionné’ practitioners can fall into either of the following two categories:
  Secteur 1: practitioners who charge the official social security rate or
  Secteur 2: practitioners who charge an extra fee on top of the official rate
• You must pay the doctor directly. The doctor will fill out a treatment form (feuille de soins) and a prescription if necessary. The treatment form is necessary to claim any refunds.

Dentists

• You should consult a dentist who is registered with the state healthcare provider in France (conventionné).
• You must pay the dentists directly. The dentist will fill out a treatment form (feuille de soins) and a prescription if necessary. The form is necessary to claim any refunds.

Hospital treatment

• If you are admitted to hospital, make sure you present your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) on admission. This will save you from paying any refundable costs up front and ensure you only pay the patient contribution.
• Patients will have to pay a daily hospital fee
• For any major medical treatment, you will be charged a flat-rate contribution in addition to the daily hospital fee. These charges are non-refundable in France but you may be able to seek reimbursement when you are back home.
• If you are admitted to a private hospital or clinic, try to ensure that it is also registered to provide state healthcare.

Prescriptions

• You should choose a pharmacy that is working within the French healthcare system. With your prescription, you should receive a treatment form (feuille de soins) – you cannot claim a refund without it.
• Prescribed medicines are only reimbursable if they are listed as reimbursable pharmaceutical products.

Ambulance

• A doctor has to confirm that you are really in need of an ambulance . Alternatively, you could use a light medical vehicle (vehicule sanitaire leger - VSL) to get to hospital.
• Ambulance charges are due if you are being admitted or discharged from hospital. This is non-refundable in France but you may be able to seek reimbursement when you are back home.

Air ambulance

• The air ambulance services vary and depend on the emergency.

More information: AMELI - http://ameli-direct.ameli.fr

Reimbursement

• Reimbursements are claimed from the local CPAM office (Caisse Primaire D‘Assurance Maladie) in France.
• You will need to provide the treatment form (feuille de soins), copies of receipts and prescriptions, a copy of your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), your address of residence and your bank details, including IBAN and BIC. Confirmation of your refund will be sent to your home address.
• You can claim back around 70% of the standard treatment cost.

If you have been unable to claim a refund during your stay in France you should contact your national health insurance provider when you return home to claim a reimbursement.