Digital healthcare in France: the future is now?

What insurance conditions are provided to Ukrainians in France? What medicines can be obtained free of charge in pharmacies? How to get to a doctor in France? Find out in the article!

Healthcare in France is the most digitized among European countries: DaVinci robots work in operating rooms, and appointments with doctors are made through an electronic system.

Currently, Ukrainians who have been granted temporary protection status in France have health insurance from the state that fully compensates for all healthcare costs. This package of services is available only to socially disadvantaged groups, as well as children, students, pensioners, and people with disabilities.

After the temporary protection status is lifted, Ukrainians will be on an equal footing with the French. Therefore, MEDplus decided to find out how medicine works in this country.

Mila Kitaeva, a journalist and volunteer, shared her opinion on the standard of living and treatment in France.

Obligatory state insurance

State insurance is compulsory and covers about 70% of a patient’s expenses. More than 20% of a French employee’s salary is deducted from his or her monthly salary, with 8% of the income paid by the employee and 13% paid by the employer.

All medical care, including pharmacy purchases, must be paid for with a special Carte Vitale card, which is a health insurance card that refunds a certain percentage of the money spent within 5 days. The card can be issued free of charge after registration in the state health insurance system.

Amount of compensation

After obtaining insurance, you need to sign an agreement with a therapist, like our family doctor. The insurance covers 70% of the cost of visits to him. Usually, a consultation with a doctor of this level costs 20–40 euros.

The time of a subspecialist is more expensive, between 60 and 120 euros. The insurance will cover the same 70%, but only if your general practitioner refers you. You can make an appointment without it, but then you will be reimbursed only 30% of the cost of the visit.

Mila says that in France, appointments with specialists are made through an app (website). You simply select the category of doctor you need and are shown the general queue for that doctor in the nearest settlements, and you choose and make an appointment with that doctor.

The problem of queues to see doctors has not escaped French medicine either. But thanks to online appointments and a wide range of specialists, it can be avoided here.

«A lot of people say that in Europe there are huge queues to see doctors, and you have to wait for six months. Yes, this does exist, but in reality, it is purely individual. In big cities, there are more people and more doctors. It all depends on the doctor’s specialization, how long the queue is, and how popular the doctor is, so to speak,» Mila said.

Pharmacies

Recently, a new rule was introduced: in France, medicines are temporarily available under Ukrainian prescriptions. Mila Kitaeva added that it is easy to buy painkillers – there are no prohibitions on this, but of course, you cannot buy antibiotics without a prescription.

And while all prescription drugs are free for Ukrainians, most French people pay extra for them, depending on the category of drug. In the pharmacy, each of them is marked with a corresponding sticker: white – for irreplaceable drugs – the full price is paid by the insurance company. Blue is for drugs with moderate benefits, for which the patient pays 35% of the cost. An orange sticker is for medicines with little benefit, for which the patient will pay 70% of the cost out of pocket. The degree of this benefit is determined by a special commission (the Commission de transparence de la Haute Autorité de santé), and is regularly reviewed when new drugs are released.

Hospitality treatment

State insurance compensates the Frenchman for only 80% of the costs of hospitalization. In addition, the patient has to pay 20 euros per day for a stay in a medical institution.

But there are cases when insurance covers 100% of the costs. The exceptions include chronic diseases that require long-term treatment or expensive therapy, industrial accidents, occupational diseases, pregnancy and childbirth, and disability.

«Here, the state provides not only all types of insulin but also sensors for measuring sugar and even these pumps, and the wireless pumps are the latest ones,» the volunteer noted.

Nowadays, an exception has been made for Ukrainians: insurance covers even treatment in other countries. Journalist Mila Kitaeva applied for temporary protection status in France, and when she was in Switzerland, she suddenly lost consciousness and was hospitalized in Geneva. Her entire treatment was covered by French insurance, despite the fact that she was in Switzerland at the time.

Surgical operations

In France, public clinics are equipped with modern diagnostic and surgical equipment: almost all operating rooms have DaVinci robots. They allow complex operations to be performed with minimal incisions using miniature manipulators. The cost of operations can reach up to EUR 12,000, depending on the complexity and type of disease. Standard insurance covers up to 80% of the cost of surgical services, and an additional policy can cover all costs.

Private insurance

More than 93% of the French population buys supplementary insurance policies. They reimburse healthcare costs that are not covered by the basic scheme. The cost depends on the list of services, such as dental treatment, massage sessions, purchase of contact lenses, etc. On average, monthly premiums reach 400–500 EUR and are often paid by the employer as part of the social package.

The local government is responsible for managing health insurance, which allows it to regulate the amount of contributions and the cost of categories subject to compensation. This eliminates unreasonable markups on medicines and price tags for treatment in different clinics.

Emergency medical service

But no insurance covers the cost of an ambulance call. The basic price is 150 EUR, plus a surcharge for the kilometer.

This is the only case when everyone has to pay, and the charge is per kilometer, just like a taxi. The only exception is if the person is really in critical condition and needs immediate resuscitation.

Let’s summarize!

Disadvantages of the medical system in France:

One of the main disadvantages is the cost of insurance. You have to pay a fifth of your income for a compulsory policy and pay extra for each service.
Like most residents of the European Union, the French cannot immediately get to the right specialist. Therefore, queues for doctors are among the disadvantages of local medicine.

Among the advantages, we would like to emphasize the accessibility of medicine for low-income people, patients with chronic diseases, the unemployed, students, and children. Moreover, here, a person can get all procedures free of charge if his or her life is threatened.

The state plays an important role in shaping the positive image of French medicine. It regulates the cost of medical services, including those in private clinics.

And the top 3 advantages of medicine in France are its high level, the latest technologies, and robots in operating rooms.