3 Tips to Help You Choose the Best Health Insurance in France

The French social protection system is based on a high level of solidarity, which benefits both national and legal foreign residents. This means that everyone has access to high-quality healthcare, both in private practice and in hospitals, but expenses are only partially covered by Social Security, which is why expats usually top it up with a complementary health insurance. Here are 3 simple tips to choose the best expat health insurance in France.

1. Understand the healthcare system in France

Expatriates in France benefit from the Protection Universelle Maladie (PUMA), when they either work or reside there on a stable and regular basis, and if they are not covered by the health system of another country.

The PUMA system will grant them a Social Security number and a health insurance card called a Carte Vitale. This card should be shown to doctors or pharmacies so that the health expenses’ details are sent to the French Social Security fund, who automatically proceeds to reimburse the expenses.

Reimbursements are generally limited (except in specific situations) and capped. Therefore, it is essential to take out complementary health insurance to cover, in whole or in part, the remaining medical costs.

Important: in France, each insured person is free to choose their general practitioner, providing that they declare their doctor to the Social Security in order to benefit from an optimal reimbursement rate: 70% of a basic rate set at €25. Otherwise, GP consultations will only be reimbursed at 30% of the basic rate. But this choice is not final: you can change your preferred doctor at any time by informing your health insurance fund and you can go to any doctor in case of emergency or if your doctor is not available when needed. Your GP will be responsible for referring you to a specialist (rheumatologist, cardiologist, dermatologist, etc.) but it is worth noting that some of them can be seen without prior referral (gynaecologists, ophthalmologists, dentists…).

Find out more about visiting the doctor in France.

2. Assess your health insurance needs

Who needs to take out a top-up insurance? Depending on whether you are single, married, with or without children, your healthcare coverage requirements are not the same and should be able to change during the contract. Do I need to add my spouse as a beneficiary? What if I expect a child?

Then, ask yourself: what are my needs? Assess the health needs of the people covered: the number of medical consultations (general practitioners or specialists), ongoing medical treatments and needs for expensive medicines….

It is also necessary to take into consideration the use of poorly reimbursed items, or even those that are not always covered, such as dental care and optical care, alternative medicine, psychoanalysis, or even consultations with specialists, which are often much more expensive and therefore less reimbursed by the French system.

3. Look at the terms and benefits of your health insurance

Considering that most treatments are not fully covered by the French health insurance system, many beneficiaries opt for a top-up health insurance which covers all or part of the costs that are not reimbursed by Social Security as well as extra fees, depending on the cover taken out. This solution offers greater peace of mind, greater freedom in the choice of doctors, and greater comfort in the event of hospitalisation.

French employers have to offer their employees a complementary health insurance (sometimes even covering dependants). However, coverage often includes only basic benefits and may not be sufficient. Therefore, some employees take out a second insurance policy in order to have full coverage.

For foreign residents, choosing an expat health insurance like APRIL International’s MyHealth France offers many advantages that local insurance policies do not, in particular:

• Easy subscription: no health questionnaire
• Bilingual advisors and administrators at your service (French-English)
• No advance payment of costs in France for: hospitalisation, pharmacy, radiology and laboratory, with your direct billing card
• Telemedicine service available 24/7, from anywhere, and in the language of your choice
• ‘Easy Claim’ app to send your medical claims and get reimbursed within 48h
• Lifetime cover: you are covered for as long as you want and your premiums do not increase according to your personal expenses
• Coverage in France, and temporarily in the rest of the world in the event of unexpected treatment