HOW MUCH IT COST ME TO BE TREATED AT THE HOSPITAL | French healthcare

[@cynthia2233]

Did I miss the part about how much you pay for your separate health insurance?

[@Ariellelaparisienne]

Oh my gosh how could I forget such a key detail 🤦🏼‍♀️ thank you for this comment, I pay 25€ a month 💸

[@aeolia80]

it depends on if your work pays for it or if you pay for an individual plan (for self-employed), but it's never over like 60 euros a month, maybe even less than 40 euros

[@sanxmuch121]

@@Ariellelaparisienne 25 € is for you, and your employer pays too. Otherwise, ot would rather be around 200 €

[@jean-Pierre-bt8xw]

@@sanxmuch121 In France, some societies are paying you a mutuelle, but they are not the majority. For example, i pay ALONE for my Family (2 adults+2kids (teens))about 75€ a month, and I am almost completely taken in charge for maximum things even when the "sécurité sociale", doesn't pay well.

[@davidhutchinson5233]

@@sanxmuch121 Nice try.

[@MrGrinax]

So true for the low cost. I broke my femur while skiing, with Healthcare + insurance I had to pay nothing, but I know the final bill : helicopter, + surgery with anesthesia (with an excellent doctor) + 3 days at hospital with physiotherapist + meds = Less than 2500€. I can't imagine how much it would have been in the US...

[@baramuth71]

In the US = Bankrupt

[@einathurvitz6178]

I got to know your videos when I was preparing for a visit in Paris earlier this year - I enjoy them so much, and the proof is that I continue to watch your channel sometimes even after my Parisian visit. So thanks! I live in Israel, and we also have a public health system that is - frankly, much simpler. If you are a legal resident, you are covered by the public health insurance (paid for by taxes of course). You pick a health provider (there are 4). Then, almost everything is actually paid by the the health provider, with some (legally set) price you pay yourself. For example, to see a regular clinician, I would pay about 9 Euros. The rest is paid for by my health provider, I don't even see a bill. If you have an emergency, everything in the hospital is paid for by the national health insurance. I'm not saying it's a perfect system (there are problems), but it is very simple to navigate, compared to what you described.

[@EmilyDonahue1946]

I had a stroke. I live in France, and have been here for 20+ years. Not only was I cared for immediately in the hospital, but I was also given rehabilitation at a separate hospital. That lasted for 6 months. Not only was there no charge, but because I had a condition that the French consider to be long term, any further care that I needed was also without charge. Of course I pay taxes, but my daughter-in-law, a neurologist in the U.S., said there is no service in America that provides the rehabilitation I received. I feel that my taxes are a small price to pay for the care I received. (I did go to the U.S. after 6 months, because my children worried about my being alone after my stroke, and since I did not have American health insurance, we saw the REAL cost of any medical or rehabilitation services. We decided on only one, a psychiatrist, since I was in need of help dealing with what I had been through. That cost a lot, but it was helpful).

[@davidhutchinson5233]

When I sold health insurance in the US years ago, I always put an accident rider on the plans I sold. Accidents are more likely than illness to begin with. So eliminating the out of pocket was easy for another $25 monthly. But without it? An accident like Mademoiselle Arielle had would be what? $1,000 at least in the US.

[@megandurkee4940]

And this is why the American healthcare system sucks. Oh and I’m American. I have very good insurance at this point in time, however not long ago I didn’t. I went years and years without seeing a doctor because I couldn’t afford it. I’m glad the system works for you in France. I’m also glad your better.

[@Ariellelaparisienne]

It makes me so sad to hear that people go without seeing a doctor because they can’t afford it….. im glad you’re covered now !

[@charlottetrujillo2207]

Just had eye surgery in US, and had to pay $2000.00 to the surgeon up front, and $2000.00 to the surgical center up front. I have insurance and the deductible was already met. The anesthesiologist is separate, and multiple outpatient visits to surgeon and retinal specialist are also separate. Yikes!

[@loritanner4478]

Your insurance sounds like it is not very good. My hubby has had 9 major eye surgeries in the past 3 years and we didn't pay that much for all of them. And 4 of them was at a hospital and each was around 50 thousand dollars. You have to find one that, one, you can afford for your income level. Two, doesn't have ridiculous deductibles. And three, doesn't have high co pays for doctor visits. And four, doesn't have outrageous out of pocket expenses. I have been able to find a balance with our private medical insurance. It's not easy, but I had to do some research to do it. This year, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. March 14th I had a double mastectomy and am lucky that it wasn't in my lymph nodes. So I'm cancer free now. It's been a scary journey. But I'm ok. And I had to find a medical plan that was good for all this that I'm going through.

[@ChatonQuiMiaule]

Your interaction with the hand specialist is no surprise to me - my experience with some of these specialists (orthopedic surgeons etc.) is that they see you for very short consultations and charge 55€ or more for that. How would they be able to pay their expensive car, horse club, fancy reception hall etc. otherwise?

[@ChatonQuiMiaule]

Actually, there are deductibles, but there are small, like 1€ per prescription.

[@sanxmuch121]

The densist adjusts his prices on your coverage, they lower prices for people without secondary cover...

[@yannip2083]

Which is the best French Mutuelle insurance if you don't have an employer?

[@ChatonQuiMiaule]

Not "the government". "Social security" (state government and social security budgets are different).

[@johannaengman2594]

The tax system pays more cause you visits to the doctor is more than what you see. That is what I think is good with the US system that you know what things kosts. I am in Sweden and we only see what you pay. You can have a private insurance that covers everything but most people don´t. Then you get in a fast track to a specialist. I think you pay 10 USD per visit but after 100 USD in a year you pay nothing. In hospital you have to pay for food, think that is about 12 USD per day and you can eat as much as you want/can.

[@ChatonQuiMiaule]

The 25€ paid is the full price received by the doctor - this is not a co-payment.

[@sanxmuch121]

Doctors don't choose their sectors, there are rules to allow them to practice these prices. For that, they must have spent years in the public sector at the hospital.

[@reneeupdike2220]

In the US Dental is NOT part of health care insurance. At least in the two states I have lived in. Dental insurance is separate and NOT worth the price it costs. In both states I purchased the dentists' dental discount program. Right now my two dental cleanings/checkup/xrays end up being about $450 for the year. The dentists here in the US have astronomical prices. I had stage one skin cancer and had an outpatient small surgery. It was cheaper to have my skin cancer surgically removed than for my daughter to have two fillings for her cavities in her teeth! Just ridiculous the prices dentists charge! If we have to go to the doctor without insurance like for a UTI or something we actually need to see a doc for to get a prescription for an antibiotic it will cost around $125 or more. I can usually get a 30% discount if I ask for it. The docs can't charge different prices for uninsured people versus insured people. The insurance companies will "get them"! We don't even want to talk about going to a hospital without insurance. Now let's talk about pricing for health insurance. If you are an individual paying for health insurance for you and your spouse it's about $1,200 to $1,500 per month - yes per month. Some companies will help with that - maybe. We did have an Affordable Care Act passed a few years back but that ended up making our health insurance even more expensive now. Now that I am semi-retired with less income the state I live in now helps me to pay for the health insurance and the cost for me and my husband is about $85 per month and the state/government picks up the rest. I had my coloscopy recently and even with insurance I still had to pay almost $1,000 to the doctor. They send you bills for every doc you see and the hospital. There are deductibles in the insurance cost but if you don't have the insurance and you end up at the hospital there is a high chance you would have to file for bankruptcy. Hospital costs here are THAT much!!!! I am curious at how much you pay monthly out of pocket for your health insurance or do you get it free from your employer? Thanks for explaining. I found it very interesting! "They" scare us here in the US that we do NOT want "free" health care as it would make for long lines to go to the doc and waiting lines for cures such as cancer.

[@MrCracou]

Total coverage for me is 15$ per month and my employer pats 25$. For that I get full unlimited coverage with copay limited to 2$ per prescription. Welcome to the French system

[@francois-xavieresperance5007]

And there is "Secteur 3", too...

[@karenjakobsen668]

Hey, thanks so much for this info. How did you apply for the FR health card? I live here, I am Canadian but also Danish, so am also EU. Do you just sign up online?

[@nancyrivard6194]

Who do you have for your supplemental insurance?

[@johnvititoe6051]

The money your parents spent on your dental care was well spent. You have beautiful teeth! Did you have braces? Does the French healthcare system pay for braces?

[@Ariellelaparisienne]

Thanks for the kind comment ! The French healthcare pays for braces for children under the age of 16 ☺️ I missed it so sadly I had to pay for mine 🥲

[@aeolia80]

one tip for those living in France and have a carte vitale, you have to have a GP treating you or else you will NOT be reimbursed 70% of the base cost by "secu", you will only be reimbursed for 20% of the base cost. This can be an issue if you go see a specialist that doesn't need a referral like an OBGYN (it's a lawful right in France for those with a uterus to be able to see an OBGYN without a referral from a GP, unlike say in the UK). But the problem right now is there is a shortage of doctors in France, specialists being the worst, but GPs still pretty bad. And many GPs are not accepting new patients even though a law was just made where it is your right to have a GP especially if you have a chronic illness. Also if you are a foreigner in France and English (even if it is not your native language) is your main language for whatever reason, you may have trouble finding a doctor that speaks English. It's a great misunderstanding that French people are competent in English, they are not, unless they seek it out personally, they have little to no exposure to English through media (this is because everything is dubbed into French and they aren't weirded out by dubbing like the rest of us, lol) and English in school is more academic and not taught as a tool to communicate. So you're gonna have to be the one to get over your nerves and learn your medical French yourself and get a French speaking GP if you can't find an English speaking one that's accepting new patients (this is from experience, I have high anxiety with doctors and I didn't get a GP for 3 years because I didn't think my level of French was good enough and I couldn't find an English speaking doctor in my area that was accepting new patients).

[@dianebooth745]

I'm a senior on Medicare and State Medicaid in Hawaii. I get 100% coverage on everything plus my insurance company gives me $175 month for over the counter items and food. Ironically, I never go to any doctors or hospitals since the Pandemic because I no longer trust them.... anywhere...in any country

[@nancyrivard6194]

I’m a senior with both Medicare (part B cost $167 per month) and I don’t qualify for Medicaid as I have both a pension and SS. Therefore, I pay another $250 per month for gap coverage and prescription drug coverage. Still have deductibles and co-pays. No dental or hearing coverage either. France would save me thousands every year!

[@dianebooth745]

@@nancyrivard6194 I guess it all depends in which State you live.

[@carolebritain9668]

I live just east of Toronto so very close to your hometown. I’m not sure why you think having to pay anything at all makes the French healthcare system better than Canada. I have had surgeries, specialists, long hospital stays , tests, x-rays, procedures on my heart By top-tier specialists. , endless medical interventions, and I have never paid a penny. I have been transported by ambulance , by helicopter and by medical jet and again my cost was zero dollars. I do understand that there are deductibles for some things but that is dependent on your insurance and most of us, I suspect have company paid insurance. You of course can buy additional insurances, but when you add it all up, it isn’t that big of a burden. I do have a story about Paris however, that happened in the 70s when we went to Paris for the first time as a bunch of very young teenagers, and one of our party passed out during communion at Notre Dame cathedral. The priest called an ambulance, and, as we approach the cathedral, we saw her being placed in the back and managed to find her in a backstreet emergency hospital Where there were literally, including her, three patients. She was given blood work. She was given x-rays. She had Dr. Care., as well as nurse is caring for her. I was freaking out because I didn’t know how we were going to pay for any of this, as we were just high school students. When it was all said and done, they did release her with some medication that they provided and the cost was absolutely nothing. We were very impressed. The only real issue that she had during her entire time, was that they don’t give you gallons when they’re giving you an x-ray so she had to face the technician stark naked. She wasn’t impressed with that or the fact that we tried to kidnap her by rolling her bed out of the hospital so that we wouldn’t be stuck with a huge bill. What can I say. We were young. 😁

[@carolebritain9668]

Sorry, my iPad keyboard is completely haunted and just spells words the way it wants to. Not gallons but gowns. They don’t give you gowns when getting an x-ray. Lol.

[@Ariellelaparisienne]

An interesting comment, here are my thoughts : Canadian health insurance is not cheap and you have to pay a deductible. And the system is not all encompassing… meaning that dental, prescriptions, ambulance services and eye care are not covered. So yes, if you are a resident with health insurance through your company, you’re fine. But what about the student who does not yet work and wants to see the dentist ? Or need to pick up medication ? Or needs GLASSES to see ? I just looked up a quote for dental insurance ALONE and that was 200$ a month with a deductible… I can’t even imagine what insurance for everything would cost. In France health care is entirely affordable for everyone…. Without health care and without insurance you can see a doctor or dentist for 25€… so it is accessible to not just those who have insurance but also those who don’t. That is why I think it is superior.

[@sharonbennett9953]

you dont talk about your private health insurance?

[@alexchew7994]

Does tourist gets covered?

[@asterixky]

No. I suggest you get a travel insurance when traveling anywhere in the world.

[@kjjones8627]

Your healthcare system in Canada is NOT FREE. Your tax rates are nuts and you have to wait way to long for basic medical screening. That being said in the US you can get a blood test or x-ray in a few days, its much better however in the US its way way to expensive and if you loose your job your screwed so its not much better in the US. Your best bet is to eat as healthy as you can, exercise and try to avoid doctors and hospitals as much as you possibly can

[@galacavallo4862]

I live in France since 2017, and since more than one year I'm having problems with my health. I can confirm that you're right about what it cost ...but the system in real it doesn't work. There are not doctors. To see a normal dermatology doctor you have to wait minimum one year (just an example). It's too sad and sometimes it's not only about the money, but without doctor there is not solution. It's a big big problem in this country, and it's known

[@Ariellelaparisienne]

Yes very true ! Specialty doctors are very hard to book appointments with… normally I look a little bit out of Paris on the RER and I find what I’m looking for :) for dermatology I had the same problem as you, every clinic was a 6 months wait, so I called the hospital to see the dermatologist there and I got an appointment within a few days

[@aeolia80]

ah man, yeah, the shortage of doctors problem in France is no joke, like sooooo many doctors are not accepting new patients even though a law was just made where having a general practician (medecin traitant) is a right now (especially if you have a chronic illness), but like 60-70% of the GPs aren't accepting new patients, and with specialists, my husband has pretty bad psoriasis, he had it under control when we lived for 5 years in Korea, but since being back in France it's gotten really bad because of how hard the water is here in Ile-de-France (I've got eczema and I never had it on other parts of my body other than my hands and feet till I moved to France), anyways, we live in Ile-de-France, right, and my husband had to see a dermatologist for his psoriasis but the only one that was accepting new patients that was anywhere near us was still a hour away by bus, not train, bus, and he still had to wait 4 months to see the doctor, he had had an appointment with a derm closer to us where he had to wait 5 months for the appointment but the doctor cancelled that appointment and then said they weren't taking new patients.

[@galacavallo4862]

@@aeolia80 omg. So sorry for your husband, I understand very well how frustrating is not to have a professional to help you when you suffer. Hope the situation changes, but seems too complex... looking for other countries to live in the future. I guess you don't realize how hard will be being old in this country until you get sick

[@francois-xavieresperance5007]

"The system in real doesn't work" ?? I recommend you to try the heart attack. Last december i was taken to the emergency. 1 month in hospital, including open heart surgery. And 2 month of cardiac rehab in a clinic. They saved my life. I paid 0€ and it worked very well. I know that it is not perfect, though. But when it is an emergency, you get a 4 stars service. And yesterday (August 28th) i get an appointment by an ophtalmologist for September 11th. And i live in a medical desert (in the region of Orléans). 2 weeks wait for a specialist seems pretty reasonable to me.

[@poboutin]

This is very informative. Thanks for sharing and yes it is an eye opener to see this ridiculously low prices compared to the US which is where I live. I find it funny that you even mention the cents… at that level I personally consider them the equivalent of a rounding error. 😂

[@NancyK-pd8lz]

Honestly I think the clickbait “America you are getting scammed” isn't necessary. People are struggling with their healthcare and suffer because of it. Americans know and want their healthcare to be better. If you're not American participating in convos about it is ok but the need to criticize is unnecessary. Especially since this video had to do with French healthcare and you're Canadian not American.

[@peacefulminimalist2028]

It's not clickbait if it's true

[@janmurphy9347]

We know we’re getting scammed.

[@Theworldisyourplayground0011]

The US definitely needs a single payer healthcare system!!

[@asterixky]

YES

[@Marcus_613]

It's absolutely not free, we pay taxes for this. Many of us also pay for a "mutuelle". It is just a different system, far less individualistic so that anyone have access to hospitals and doctors.

[@Briochepepites]

You're forgetting most people working in France are contributing up to 46% of their income in social charges which supports the health system. You're implying it only costs you €25,00. I'm glad you feel its free, but you're giving out the wrong message.

[@jfrancobelge]

46% is the average total taxes (social charges + income tax) deducted from a gross income. The social charges per se, deducted from the gross salary, amount to 23%. But, for the employer social charges represent 25% to 42% of the gross salary paid to the employee; this unfortunately is a real brake on employing people.

[@ChatonQuiMiaule]

25€ is really the total payment to the doctor, not a co-payment. (True, doctor get some extra public traction through deferments on their own social security payments.) Most of social security charges support retirement, not health.

[@Briochepepites]

@@jfrancobelge I'm self employed and my cotisations represent 46% of every euro of profit I earn. before I pay impots. 13% of what I earn goes towards healthcare, if people think healthcare is cheap they're probably not paying cotisations.

[@DavidDuVivier]

This is all very interesting, but like most discussions of healthcare it focuses almost exclusively on the cost of care and thus doesn’t tell the whole story. Unfortunately this leads to misleading statements like: “In America we pay 17%-18% of GDP on healthcare and get nothing for it, whereas in Germany and France they pay 12%-13% of GDP and their health statistics are much better." Yes... and no. I have received medical treatment in various countries, including any number of very difficult operations, sometimes on the “bleeding edge” of what doctors call “standard of care” (i.e. much more complex than “having one’s pinky fixed” after a fracture) in the U.S., Germany and the Netherlands, and I have had passing contact with the medical systems of FSU countries (Russia and Kazakhstan). The is no question that healthcare costs are extremely, often prohibitively high in the U.S. and that the system of financing healthcare in the U.S. is complicated, confusing, totally disorganized... basically simply a mess, or better: an outright scandalous catastrophe. In Germany (where I reside) things are much more simple and straightforward, and government-regulated insurance - for which one pays premiums that follow a sliding scale based on one’s income - generally covers pretty much everything (though there are exceptions... e.g. - very oddly - having your teeth cleaned). It’s much like the Carte Vitale in France, but you’re paying premiums for your government-regulated insurance and for that you get 100% instead of 70% coverage (usually your never even see a bill) without having to have a “mutuelle”, i.e. supplementary private insurance (which, however, you can get in Germany if you want and which is sometimes nice if you want to be treated by the head of a clinic department, for example). In the U.S. and the Netherlands I paid out of pocket for complex procedures, and the Netherlands were of course considerably cheaper (but far, far from being “free”). The FSU was quite primitive, although that was way back in the 1990s... by now things might have improved. But as far as the quality and level and sophistication of the doctors and equipment used, on the whole the U.S. was the pinnacle, simply head and shoulders above the rest. Now, I don’t doubt that in general EU countries achieve standard of care, but the big research hospitals I was treated in / operated on in the U.S. (Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, MD; BJC HealthCare / Washington University Medical Center in St. Louis, MO) were more modern, very noticeably better equipped, staffed with exquisitely qualified professional physicians and medical assistants, and just more advanced overall than, say, the university hospitals in Freiburg, Marburg, Erlangen (all OK, good, or very good, but definitely not on the "Excellent-to-A+" level of their American academic counterparts) or even Heidelberg (along with the Charité in Berlin the latter is considered the absolute top-tier in Germany). So though cost is a huge factor quality should never be left out of the equation, and if the procedure you need is not run-of-the-mill but really important and demanding, and you can arrange financing for treatment at one of the world’s best hospitals - many of which are associated with large American, or sometimes European, research universities - do your homework and see what might be the best place for you to go.