Medical experiences, year 1, France

Medical Coverage as an Ex-Pat

Okay, this is going to be far from the most interesting post I have ever created but for those of you who were asking…. I have made some notes on my experience with the medical system in France.  I think there are the same challenges as exist in much of the world around having enough doctors to meet the needs of the locals but in general, I have been quite lucky I think….. And overall the post might just interest you in the way of general knowledge…. It tells you of one more topic that has it’s share of hurdles when you decide to pull up stakes and move abroad…..

You may find this hard to believe but I am, by nature, quite risk adverse.   This leaning factored heavily into making sure I have adequate health insurance while living abroad.  And it was also a requirement for my visa so need and desire melded into one. 

It was relatively easy to find a provider, and I admit I didn’t do a lot of shopping around, as time was pressing for me to have coverage in place when preparing for my initial visa interview.  And I will also say I am not completely happy either with my service provider; they are super efficient on the sales team (no surprise!) but less so on the inquiry post-coverage side.  For that reason, I am not naming them as I also accept that some of the hiccups have been from technology glitches on my end.  Ie: a telephone appointment with one of their online doctors did not materialize because my phone was not notifying me of an incoming call but was quick to then tell me I had missed a call.  Insert grimace emoji here.  😊

I also elected, because buying insurance is not cheap, to buy inpatient coverage only.  (The monthly cost varies depending on the exchange rate but runs just north of $400 Cdn.  However, up until now I have been able to claim this as a medical expense on my personal taxes- I am not sure how that will work now that I will begin claiming as a tax resident of France.  Just one more thing I will learn on my journey!)  I was willing to self-insure the smaller costs, and really wanted protection in case (touch wood it never happens) I had a need for hospitalization.  Basically, anything that might severely impact my hard-earned savings I wanted to have coverage for.  It has therefore been to my delight to find that I do have some coverage for an annual doctors visit and some standard screening tests. 

It was also a pleasant surprise then that not only did I find I had coverage for some doctor visits but that the costs for routine  are pretty low.  For example, I had an appointment with a dermatologist to give me the once over and make sure there was nothing pre-cancerous looking on my body and it cost the grand total of 56 euro, about $84 Cdn, and included burning off a suspicious spot.  Further I was able to get into the specialist within weeks of requesting an appointment.  An interesting point here is that a lot of specialists do not require a referral from a family doctor, speeding up the wait process even more as it eliminates that step. 

I have seen my doctor a few times and each visit is 26.50 euro, or roughly $40 Canadian.  And I had a trip to an after hours clinic which cost me $75.  I think this is making me sound like I am in need of medical attention a lot which isn’t the norm but truth be told I have had a few weird things happen this year.  Perhaps it is coincidence or maybe just more signs of a body creeping its way to its best by date.  😊

I got sort of lucky finding a family doctor as that can be a challenge.  I couldn’t get into the local clinic that Em & Co use so Francois made some calls for me (thank heavens for a kind son in law who can make time for French language phone calls for me!  I will handle almost any subject in French in person but on the phone, whoa, that is a whole new challenge.  Although I am getting pretty proficient at the calls from delivery people telling me my parcel is waiting for me to claim.  😊   So, the sort of lucky is that he found one in a little community not far away; a community that I have always found so charming that it is no hardship for me to take the quick drive there.  The sort of not so lucky is that this doctor is not very pleasant.  ☹  My first visit, and solo as I insist I can manage these things on my own!, by way of introduction I told her, in French, that I was sorry but my French is not very good.  To which she replied, “Well then how can I help you if you don’t speak French and I don’t speak English?”  Yikes!  Talk about throwing me!  (By contrast when I saw the dermatologist, who also doesn’t speak English, she kindly complemented me on my French.)   Nonetheless, I put on my pleasant pants and tried to kill her with kindness and humour (humour in a largely un verbal way including laughing when she asked me if I wanted to get weighed).  I seem to be bringing her around…… 

Generally, I would expect to see my family doctor once a year.  For over 20 years I have taken the same low dosage medication for a sluggish thyroid, necessitating annual blood work and prescription renewal.  My first visit to my French doctor she advised that she would only give the prescription for 6 months, and then I would have to redo my blood work before she would give me another renewal.  So, when I went back at the 6 months point I requested she renew my prescription and not require more blood work as it really seemed silly given my prescription has not needed changing for decades.  Miraculously she agreed, gave me a form to go for blood work in March so maybe, just maybe, I can keep this more streamlined process.

On another plus side on my first visit, she was very interested in what I take for supplements and was most keen to know what vitamin B I take.  My next visit I brought the bottle with me and she gave the ingredients a good look over.  It was later when curiously doing my own research, that I discovered that Vitamin B and biotin can interfere with thyroid function, something that no doctor in Canada has ever seemed to be interested in.  I found this thoroughness reassuring. 

By the way, getting an appointment for blood work is super easy to and with very little wait time.  Like the next day often.  And get this, if you go in the morning by the afternoon all of the results will be posted on your profile for you to see!

All of these learnings are not for the faint-hearted really, particularly as I am doing it in a language I have yet to master and in a system that is not often what I am used to.  But in a way I enjoy it; maybe not at the time and in the moment but afterwards, when I can say to myself – “Okay, that wasn’t so bad now was it?”  In September I have a standard mammogram appointment (for which I did need a referral) and must go to a clinic at a hospital.  Deep breath, I can do this!!

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