My husband and I have had as good or better care here in France as we had in the US. Even when we first immigrated to in France and were not yet on the national health care insurance, we didn’t have to pay up front when my husband was hospitalized for pneumonia. The hospital billed our US insurance and accepted the amount paid. After we got on the French national insurance, and I had a serious bicycle accident, the emergency centre at the nearest hospital admitted me at once (no waiting) and treated me with the same medical expertise, equipment and technology that you find in the US.
By the way, we live in very rural France, where there are far fewer doctors than in large cities. Yet I am able to see my primary care physician in one day and a specialist in usually 1-3 weeks —immediately if it’s an emergency. If you are interested in more details of our system (the Sécu), as per my experiences, read on: Most French doctors don’t have a whole staff working in their office like American doctors do; at most there is a receptionist/secretary. I would say that the average appointment last anywhere from 15 minutes to 1/2 hour.
The patient then gives the doctor his/her "Carte Vitale" which has a computer chip in it. The doctor puts it in a machine, much like a credit card transaction, which transmits the patient’s info to the Sécu. Meanwhile the patient writes the doctor a cheque for 22 Euros (28-75 Euros for most specialists), and walks out if necessary with a prescription or referral to a specialist. Within 1-2 weeks, 60 percent of the doctor’s fee is deposited in the patient’s bank account. The rest of the cost is the responsibility of the patient, but most people have a private supplementary insurance which covers the rest of the fee. Since everything is computerized, the patient’s supplementary insurance also reimburses the patient in a timely fashion.
It makes me laugh that Americans rant that the government will get between the patient and his/her doctor. Nothing could be further from the truth here. There is a whole manual of medicines and procedures which are covered; every doctor has a copy; it’s in black and white so there’s none of this refusing patients legitimate treatments that they need. Granted, an American drug will not be available in France as soon as it is in the US, but the reverse is also true. Certain OTC medicines that I can’t find here I simply stock up on when we go back to the US each year.
The hospital here in the nearest city is bare-bones when it comes to decor and toiletries. Since I don’t go to the hospital for the same reason I go to an art gallery or a hotel, this doesn’t bother me. The 3 times I had to be in the hospital here, I never had the feeling that they were rushing to get me out, as I did in the US. How much does all of this cost, you ask? The public healthcare premium is about 8 percent of your net (after tax) salary up to maximum amount or ceiling. If you work (my husband and I are retired), the employer pays a share of the employee’s premium. The supplementary insurance premiums vary and are based on your age.
During a recent appointment with my neurologist, he asked me why so many people in the US were against a national healthcare plan. I had trouble answering. Many doctors I’ve spoken to have expressed their disapproval of the American system. Hard to believe, isn’t it, considering French doctors don’t earn nearly as much money as their American counterparts. As one of our neighbors so astutely put it, “Here (in France) the point is to make sure that everyone is covered; in your country the goal is to make as big a profit as you can.” Nothing wrong with making a profit, but there’s always going to be a sore point when it comes to making a profit on someone’s misery.
- inthe12
, aged 60, rural France, 5 year user of France's health system, originally from Pennsylvania |
