Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion

France

Emergency

Information about the EHIC


Treatment, coverage & costs

For information on:

  • health professionals (doctors, dentists, nurses, etc.)
  • hospitals in the area where you are staying
  • healthcare costs and coverage in France

see the ameli health directory website (in French only).

Doctors

  • To take advantage of your European Health Insurance Card, consult a doctor who is affiliated to the state healthcare system ('conventionné').
  • Practitioners who are 'conventionné' fall into one of two categories:
    ‘Secteur 1’: practitioners who charge social security rates,
    ‘Secteur 2’: practitioners who charge an extra fee on top of those rates.
  • You will have to pay the doctor directly. He or she will complete a treatment form ('feuille de soins') and, if necessary, make out a prescription. You will need the treatment form to claim reimbursement.

Dentists

  • To take advantage of your European Health Insurance Card, consult a dentist who is affiliated to the state healthcare system ('conventionné').
  • You will have to pay the dentist directly. He or she will complete a treatment form ('feuille de soins') and, if necessary, make out a prescription. You will need the treatment form to claim reimbursement.

Hospital treatment

The following rules relate to public establishments and affiliated private clinics ('conventionné'):

  • Show your European Health Insurance Card on admission. This will save you from having to advance monies unnecessarily. You will in all cases have to pay:

- the medical expenses to be borne by the patient (patient’s contribution [‘ticket modérateur’] and any amounts exceeding the official rates); and

- a flat-rate daily hospital fee for overnight stays (meals, laundry, etc.) of €20 a day, plus any applicable supplements for personal comfort (individual room, telephone, television, etc.).

These expenses are not reimbursable under the French social security system. You may, however, wish to check whether you can obtain reimbursement from your country of residence.

If you receive treatment in a non-affiliated private clinic, you will have to pay the full cost and claim reimbursement later. The rates may be higher and the residual costs which you must bear will therefore be higher.

Prescriptions

  • With your prescription, you should receive a treatment form ('feuille de soins'). You must have this to claim reimbursement. Prescribed medicines are reimbursable only if they are listed as reimbursable pharmaceutical products. The pharmacist will tell you which medicines are reimbursable and which are not.

Ambulance

  • You must have a medical prescription stating that you need an ambulance or a taxi. Medical transport is reimbursed only if certain conditions laid down in French legislation are met, including a compulsory medical prescription.

Air ambulance

To use an air ambulance, you will need: 

  • a medical prescription
  • prior authorisation from the ‘CPAM’ (‘caisse primaire d’assurance maladie’, local branch of the health insurance fund).

Reimbursement

You can submit claims for reimbursement in France to the CPAM office (Caisse Primaire d'Assurance Maladie) at your place of stay. In such a case, confirmation of your reimbursement will be sent to your place of residence. If you do not claim reimbursement of these expenses during your stay in France, contact your national health insurance provider when you return home.

  • You must provide the French insurance fund with the following:
    • the treatment form ('feuille de soins')
    • copies of receipts and prescriptions
    • a copy of your European Health Insurance Card or your Provisional Replacement Certificate
    • your address in your country of residence
    • your bank details, including the International Bank Account Number (IBAN) and Bank Identifier Code (BIC).
  • Reimbursement rates vary according to the type of care or treatment received:
    • you will be reimbursed at the rate of 70% of social security rates for non-hospital care or 80% for hospital care. You will still have to pay the patient’s contribution and any amounts over and above the official rates;
    • reimbursement rates for medicines may be 65%, 35% or 15%;
    • consultations with medical auxiliaries (physiotherapists, nurses, etc.) are reimbursed at the rate of 60%.
  • An excess payable by you is applied to the share which the French health insurance agency reimburses. The amount of this excess varies according to the care received:
    • medical consultations and procedures: a flat-rate contribution of €1 is deducted from the reimbursement for each consultation with a doctor who is affiliated to the state healthcare system ('conventionné') and €0.50 per treatment by an auxiliary health professional.
    • medicines: an excess of €0.50 per box of medicine is applied.
    • transport: there is a medical excess of €2 per transportation (taxi, light ambulance or ambulance).

Patient contribution

The patient’s contribution (‘ticket modérateur’) is the share of the cost which the French social security system does not pay. You remain liable for this after reimbursement by the French health insurance agency. However, for certain very expensive treatments costing more than €120, the amount of this patient’s contribution is set at a fixed amount of €24.

If you go to accident & emergency at a hospital and are not subsequently hospitalised, the patient contribution is €19.61 (flat-rate amount for casualty department patients).


Dialysis, oxygen & chemotherapy

The health directory (annuaire santé) is a service provided by the French public health insurance system. By entering various criteria (name, speciality, location, etc.), you can search for:

  • a health professional (doctor, nurse, pharmacist, etc.)
  • a healthcare centre (hospital, clinic, etc.)
  • the cost of care and the procedure for claiming reimbursement
  • places that offer dialysis, chemotherapy or oxygen therapy (which comes under the respiratory medicine service in France).

How do I apply for an EHIC?

  • Online via your ameli account (‘compte ameli’, personal account on the French health insurance agency’s online platform) or using the ameli app (available from the Apple and Google Play stores)
  • via your MSA personal area (Mon espace privé), if you come under the Mutualité sociale agricole (MSA, Mutual social benefit insurance scheme for agriculture)

You can find information on the CLEISS (Centre for European and International Liaison on Social Security) website (in French and English) and on the Caisse nationale d'assurance maladie (CNAM) (National Health Insurance Fund) website (in French).


Doctors & hospitals accepting the EHIC


Loss of card

Contacts for holders of EHICs issued in France

You can contact your CPAM office (Caisse Primaire d‘Assurance Maladie, local branch of the health insurance fund) in France:

  • online: via your ameli account (‘compte ameli’, personal account on the French health insurance agency’s online platform), under ‘Assurés’
  • by telephone: 3646 (within France) or +33 1 84 90 36 46 (from abroad).

You can contact your MSA (Mutual social benefit insurance scheme for agriculture) in France online via your personal area (‘Mon espace privé’).

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