I'm going to start some posts about how things generally work in France, at least from what I have experienced. My first one is all about health care.
First thing, health insurance. In France part of the taxes people pay goes to social security and I'm not talking about what you get to the government when you retire. The 2001 Social Security Funding Act, set the rates for health insurance covering the statutory health care plan at 5.25% on earned income, capital and winnings from gambling and at 3.95% on benefits (pensions and allowances). Social security pays for every persons health care, up to 70% in most cases. In some cases like with certain medicines, hospital stays, and some specializes doctors like for glasses and stuff they only cover maybe a little over half the costs or not at all. And one nice thing is that France doesn't require you to see a GP before seeing a specialist. You can go straight to a heart doctor or whatever if you feel you need them. But like in the US specialist cost more so be prepared.
In the case of things that are not covered people can get what is called a Mutuelle, which is like extra coverage, usually covering up to 100% for medical costs. For all teachers in France they get their Mutuelle through a company called MGEN. Mutuelle is not required, but it's only 110 euros for the 7 month stay for assistants (which is suppose to be a special deal, usually that is the cost for 4 months) and it would be very nice if I had to go to the hospital or other doctors. However the bad thing about French health care is they expect you to pay out of pocket first, like for doctor visits, and then they reimburse you later which, like with everything in France, can take a looooong time. Here are some ideas of how much health care costs in France and how much you get back just from social security insurance. Then Mutuelle covers the rest in most cases. Another good thing is all the basic visit fees are fixed so they are the same no matter where you go.
| Act | Fee | % reimbursed | Patient charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Generalist consultation | 23 € | 70% | 6,60 € |
| Specialist consultation | 25 € | 70% | 7,50 € |
| Psychiatrist consultation | 37 € | 70% | 11,10 € |
| Cardiologist consultation | 49 € | 70% | 14,17 € |
| Filling a cavity | 19,28 € – 48,20 € | 70% | 5,78 € – 14,46 € |
| Root canal | 93,99 € | 70% | 28,20 € |
| Teeth cleaning | 28,92 € | 70% | 8,68 € |
| Prescription Medicine | variable | 35 – 100% | variable |
| 30 Advil 200 mg | 2,51 € | 60% | 1,00 € |
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