When you go to France, you might want to have an assurance in case you need to go to the hospital or seing a doctor. The Danish Assurance System doesn't keep covering you when you are in France. So what to do?
This is how it works;
In France you have two securities to cover you. The first one is the public one. It covers around 65 pct of your expenses in case you need to see a doctor or you go the the hospital. It costs around 23 euros to go to a doctor in France. And way more to go to the hospital! A private security will cover the rest of your expenses. So you need both, just in case.
Public Health Insurance
You have to get the "carte vitale" the fastest you can. It's a card, like the Danish one, but French edition! You have to have a work to benefit from the insurance. To get the card, you have to contact the nearest "assurance maladie" or check on the website ameli.fr for further information. Often, it's easier to go directly to the offices with all your papers. You often have to bring a RIB (this is your bank information) ID and your bulletins. As fast as possible, the "assurance maladie" will send you a document called "attestation carte vitale". This paper allows you to go the doctor etc. You will have to pay for the doctor, but you will get the 65 pct of you money back later. The insurance will put them directly on your French account - a good reason to get a French account quickly!
In case you get ill...
French employers will ask you to justify that you really are ill if you don't show up at work. In that case you go to the doctor, you pay, and you get a document in three copies. You have to send one to your employer, one to the "assurance maladie" to get your money back, and you keep one too. Keep it, because it often happens in France that papers get lost.
Private Social Security
You might be lucky that you work for a big enterprise like Disneyland or Monoprix, and in this case you get an health insurance automatically. You will just have to complete some papers at work. You will be covered with this insurance from the first day at work until the day you quit. The insurance will send you a small card that you should keep on you, since you have to present it at the pharmacy when you buy your medecine. This kind of assurance is called a "mutuel" in French. Ask you employer if you don't know if you have one. You should also know that if you are ill often, the French society can actually check if you bought the medecine that the doctor subscribed for you...
If you don't have a health insurance at work...
You have to get a private one. It can be Matmut or another one. If you take an insurance at Matmut, you can choose one that covers you 100 pct. Doctor, hospital, medecine, and even your contraceptive pills if you need it. It costs around 20-40 euros pr month, which depends on which kind of insurance you want. It's pretty easy to make this insurance. You go to one of the offices with your RIB (the paper with your bank information), the document "attestation carte vitale" that the public health assurance sent you, and also your "carte vitale". It might sound like a lot of money, but think of what a broken leg would cost you...
If you have any question or you want to add anything to this, please don't hesitate to leave a comment.
