I thought I'd start a link where we can share tips for getting equipment.
General advice; remember paying for equipment is done by the state via your carte vitale, paid for by your caisse maladie = 100 percent of the cost, if you have been given the status of ADL by your social security office. Your GP or specialist will write to your social security office (there are several) to request this but you have to ask for it. There will be a link on the caisse maladie's website to find out if you qualify for it.(mine is the RSI.-for self-employed, there is also CPAM for employees and another whose title I don't know, for agri workers)
'Tièrce Personne' = 3RD person payments. this is when your caisse maladie pays the equipment provider DIRECTLY. i.e. not reimboursing you first and you not having to pay up front and wait for a refund. This can be very confusing because what you may 'hear' from your caisse maladie, is that they are really sorry but you will have to pay for this equipment, because you are buying from a supplier who is not "conventionné" avec your caisse maladie. It is very easy to assume this means you are not entitled to the 100 percent cover, but it doesn't necessarily mean that at all, it just means you will need to wait for a refund and this can take months to arrive. If you need assurance that you will eventually be paid back n just ask your caiss maladie for an attestation d'accord pour paiment en furure -agreement of future paiment, or something similar. A verbal agreement is usually ok but I like to see things in writingin case I've misunderstood the french.
I recently had glasses, but the optitian was not convetionné, AND I didn't know this when I ordered the glasses, so the optician (who really should have told me)then gave me the glasses anyway and waited 3 months to cash my cheque, after the refund had arrived in my bank.
To get a wheelchair you need a prescription/ordannance, from either your GP/Medecin generaliste, OR your specialiste.
Not sure why, but my GP gave me both a letter and an ordannance. You can chose ANY supplier in France. (I don't know about abroad, I may need a foreign one so will update on this )
The company send you an avis, you send it to your caisse maladie and they should pay the manufacturer direct, who usually delivers for free. (See above for tiérce personnes complications...this sometimes takes longer to sort out.)
Glasses, take ages to arrive, if you are depending on CMU unless you are funding it yourself, and even then, they take ages. Opthalmologists are NOT in opticians shops. You have to visit one separately. you go in and make an appointment, you don't need a letter from a GP, but be warned, do it well in advance of needing glasses, as opthalmic opticians are in short supply in France; in our area (86 Poitou) the waiting list is 11 months!
With CMU, you take the ordannance from the opthamologiste to the optician, they use your carte vitale or get you to give them a cheque for the 35 percent, if you don't receive CMU or if the optician is not conventionné (see above); You then send the bill, to your caisse maladie, and wait goodness knows how long for them to pay the optician, or you. Even the making of the glasses can take weeks.A faster service happens when A. you are paying, and B. the optician is conventionné to your caisse. C. you are in the UK!
I'd be interested in hearing from anyone that manages to get a PCH,(prestation compensation handicappé) which is supposed to be a special one-off grant for disabled equipment in the home and at work etc... you have to ask for this from the MDPH ...am waiting to hear about my request.