Does my daugher have a right to healthcare in France?
I WANT to help my 55-year-old daughter, who has recently moved to France. She is English but has lived in the Far East for 18 years. She has continually made UK social security payments but is not at retirement age. Is there anyway she would qualify for state health care in France? AA
THERE used to be a scheme whereby people with up-to-date UK National Insurance payments who were not yet of state health retirement age could get up to two-and-ahalf years of French health cover under the ‘S1 form’ system.
This system of ‘residual S1 forms’ ceased to exist in summer 2014, however in any case your daughter having been out of the UK for many years may have had a problem accessing this provision.
In the initial months she may be able to make use of a British European Health Insurance Card for vital healthcare needs; if she has one.
Longer term, one option is for her to take out a comprehensive private insurance policy with a French or UK-based specialist.
Another is for her to apply to her Cpam local health body for admission to the CMU, a system allowing French health reimbursements to those who are not entitled via other means such as having made social security payments through work. Local Cpams should forward such requests to the Cpam of Nîmes, where they have been centralised since summer 2013.
She will need to argue, if it is the case, why it is difficult for her to access or pay for a private policy.
After five years’ residence in France people qualify for the CMU as a right. Being in the CMU requires an annual payment at a percentage of earnings unless your
overall income is below a certain low threshold. Those on low incomes may also qualify for the CMU-C which gives completely ‘free’ healthcare with no need to buy a ‘top-up’ insurance policy.
There is more on these topics in our helpguide to Healthcare in France, available to buy via our website.
