Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

no immigrant should get cover till they have paid in for 5 years
back to france the doctor will not see you unless you pay him most will not take
insurance papers they want the cash. same in spain portugal

Beloved reminded me that we did indeed pay when she saw a doctor in france, though that may justifiably have been deemed to be a private call

cynic I have private cover but let me assure you the doctors says claim when you get back home and gives me a letter with the cost on it .

the uk must change its rules

the uk is a better place today no mps

Oh well if you claimed as a private then they should have charged you twice...Good Moaning Alf -):

MrT - actually, i agree with most of what you say about health and other benefits
despite fred's protestations to the contrary, i see no excessive expense or problem with charging "the unentitled" at the door for most hospital or surgery visits
where there is an acute emergency, i agree with fred that a different set of rules and morals should apply, even if they would'nt in USA!

I told you in my story that my US friend thought it was absolutely wrong that he didn't pay for treatment here , he asked me "how do you pay for this" .

The answer now is staring us in the face ,the NHS is in trouble .

Fred will be here in a minute to tell me i'm Pol Pot !

jimmy - i fear NHS is now approaching "beyond repair" mode .....
for several years yet, i suppose gov'ts can apply elastoplast with barrowloads of money, but imo, someone will eventually have to be brave enough to cry "Enough!" and institute something far more radical along the lines of, "If you can afford to pay for medical insurance, you must do so"
having done that, i have my doubts that you can then stop those who have paid from "technical queue jumping" and also picking the consultant or whatever of their choice

i'm sure fred would say that we should just increase top-end taxes ad infinitum, but though that may make a few happier, i cannot believe it would produce anywhere the funds required to make the present system work

They could change to the French system of payments easily enough.

Works a treat, very prompt and a lot cheaper than here.

how does that work ..... other than by taking cash!

On a basic level, cos I don't know the ins and outs of the whole system.


Everyone has a Carte Vitale, which entitles you to a certain level of care and determines the level of charges.


Basic doctor visit is (last time I used the service) €22, of which about 70% will be refunded by the state if you are entitled.

Hospital and chemist charges work in a similar way, you pays your money and the 70% gets refunded. It is probably different for major stuff, hospital stays etc.

No one gets treated simply by turning up, you have to be entitled and contribute to the system.


edit:

A lot of people insure themselves for the 30% that isn't covered, charges vary. but if you have a long term problem, it no doubt pays to insure.

Not sure what happens with retired people.

thanks Max
that system certainly has merits, but i wonder how the unemployed or those on the breadline are meant to pay upfront and then no doubt have to wait a long time to get reimbursed
perhaps there's some sort of safety net for their ilk

I'm not sure how the system works for the unemployed/very poor, but it's probably coded into the carte vitale system under a safety net.

What you cannot do, is walk into france and demand treatment for nowt, they'll turf you out on your arse.

that said, on one of our cycle trips, one of us veloistes came a cropper and was patched up by the local pharmacist who refused payment

It is grand time that safety slots !.. were added to train platforms so that there is a lip under the platform all the way along where passengers board, so that in the event of a trip or fall a person and helpers can just crawl into, so that they cannot be hit by passing trains and when the train has passed they can climb back on to the platform .....this is not too difficult to realise and could be integrated into new stations being refurbished.....for HS2 : this should be a must do.....

You have to have been a French resident for a while, and have contributed to their social security system, to get access to their health system via a Carte Vitale. I think it's 4 years, but I might be wrong.

It means that ex-pats (and immigrants to France in general) have to purchase top-up medical insurance until they qualify for the carte which typically costs around £3k pa for a middle-aged couple and pre-existing conditions are excluded.

On the plus side, GP visits are cheap (around 25 €) in most towns, although medical centre and ambulance costs in ski resorts are horrifically expensive. I had to be recovered off a mountain in Val d'Isere several years ago, and the ride on the blood wagon (that's a stretcher, towed by a pisteur) and the x-rays in the local medical centre cost 600 €. They confiscated my new Rossi twin tips as a deposit until we produced the insurance certificate.

€ 600 for that is damn good value if you ask me ..... the guy who took your skis as deposit would prob rather have kept them!

Cyners,

It wasn't so much the medical aspect that was expensive. From memory, that only represented about 200 € in itself, and that included a brace for my leg and some painkillers. It was the 5-minute jaunt off the hill, and the 2-minute ride in the ambulance, that cost the bulk of the money.

Pay for a 5 minute ride in an ambulance and some medical attention in the USA and you'll see expensive .