Healthcare Update November 8 2007

THE possibility of allowing expats who were in the CMU at the end of September to stay in it is being considered at the highest levels in the French Health service according to recent claims.

David Yeates of french-property.com says a trustworthy “French government source” told him “a Ministerial 'cabinet' of senior civil servants considering the whole issue has given their in principle approval to the proposal, which is now being considered by the French health insurance body.”

If the source is correct, this will be welcome news for the many Britons who face being thrown out of the CMU from the start of April 2008, although others, such as those with E106 forms and who were hoping to move to the CMU would presumably not be able to.

French social security spokeswoman Stéphanie Gaillard told The Connexion she could not comment on whether this possibility was being discussed. She said high-level talks were ongoing, in preparation for making a full explanation to local CPAMs on the precise impact of the new rulings about the CMU.

Ms Gaillard said: “The text is still being negotiated. Everything can change until we get a final signature on the agreements from the health minister. We hope to be as quick as possible as we understand people have a lot of questions.”

Asked whether people from outside the EU, such as Americans, were being banned from the CMU as well as EU citizens like Britons – as the legislation being relied on by the French government relates to EU citizens – Ms Gaillard said: “Non-Europeans must have a titre de séjour to stay in France long-term, and people who have a titre de séjour can benefit from the CMU. European Union citizens do not need one.” She confirmed that those from outside the EU with valid cartes de séjour, were therefore not affected by the regulations being brought in.