cheers Jane… a few previous comments had got me wondering if I was going barmy.
these are strange times… and it can almost feel as if the solid ground is turning to quicksand…
but how do you “prove” your entitlement whilst on a visit to the UK?
With a copy of your S1 or some other device?
not worth the paper it’s written on after Brexit surely 
Well, so far… by continuing the pension they are also continuing the health things…
but, heaven forbid I ever need treatment in UK… 
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But UK “promises” mean diddly squat 
Think Windrush… where’s the proof?
Ha ha… Graham… have no fear… I believe in pink elephants… 
When have you ever been asked to prove your entitlement to UK healthcare? I am pretty sure that if you are here with an S1 it will never be an issue and although an EHIC card may be useful for ID purposes, perhaps, it is not treatment under the EHIC regime when being treated in the UK.
The interesting thing will be travel in Europe outside of France or the UK and whether a UK issued EHIC card will remain valid - I guess travel insurance becomes pretty much mandatory then (not so straightforward with pre-existing conditions of course).
does one have to declare pre-existing on French travel insurances ???
(No idea, since we’ve never sought a policy since we’ve been here… )
No idea either. I travel widely throughout Europe as a volunteer for charity work and thankfully have not needed medical treatment whilst outside of France or the UK, but have had my EHIC card as a standby. Most trips are a few days only, but I guess I need to revisit this quite seriously after the end of this year. I know that when I investigated travel insurance in the UK and annual policy was several hundred pounds against a normal charge of around a hundred and I seem to recall it still had serious limitations on heart treatment, which somewhat defeats the object. Maybe my memory is playing tricks on me, but at the time I decided not to bother.
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Have you been to an English hospital or doctor’s recently? (Don’t know about other bits of UK) For the last few years I have always been asked to confirm my entitlement to NHS care. There are big signs up everywhere.
yes you do have to declare them but it is only checked if you claim for treatment for that condition… Pretty much everything is covered and the premium is not that affected by pre conditions but by AGE getting tarvel insurance if you are over 80 is exteremly difficlut and expensive.
I think we both still have our National Health Insurance Cards issued in the 1950’s.
That said, I don’t plan to travel to any 3rd world country like the UK any time soon
cheers…
We’ve probably done all the major … far away … travels .
We’ve done closer to home in recent years, Corsica… and mainland France of course… and olde worlde Portugal… 
like all Health Systems the NHS has good and bad and wide regional differences… Care for mental health issues on the NHS is patchy but compared to some of the French horror stories I’ve heard it is much better. Whole swathes of rural France now have a critical shortage of GP services
Comparing the UK to a developing country is crass I run a micro Charity for street children in UGANDA where there is no healthcare at all for the poor.
Doctors yes - I still get my prescription filled in the UK when I am there and as, until now anyway, I am still tax resident in the UK my GP has no problem and is fully aware of our situation. With the end of transition looming we have to get off the fence, however, and make a decision as to which is our permanent residence - right now both sets of authorities have legitimate claims on the meagre amount of tax we have to pay and I am sure I will have some issues with the UK tax authorities when I do make the change.
Hi Pete
This is my understanding of it all -
If you register as French resident before 31/12/20, with all legal requirements fulfilled, and if the U.K. is, and remains your competent state, then once you reach retirement age, whenever that might be, you will be entitled to an S1 which will give you French system healthcare up to level that a French local would receive. (You would still need to purchase a mutuelle top up insurance) You would also then be entitled to use the NHS, by showing your S1 certificate, as the U.K. is paying for your healthcare. Once your S1 has been registered in France, you can also apply to the U.K. for an EHIC-E card which will cover you for emergencies outside of France and U.K. All of this is in the Brexit withdrawal agreement and is now law and cannot be changed regardless of what happens with the ongoing trade agreement. As I said, all this is only guaranteed for people who are registered and legally resident before the end of the transition period, ie end of the year.
Maybe worth you looking into residency requirements.
Oh, and we live in rural sw France, yesterday afternoon we called into our GP surgery to make an appointment, all booked for 11am today…have to wait 3 weeks at our Drs in the U.K.
Good Luck with all your plans.
From what Pete has said I think he is already a French resident, even if he has never declared it… if you only spend 2 months a year in the UK you would have to have several other ties there to make you resident.
It looks like my decision to use rental income as my pension will cost me more tax because it’s not a “real” pension.
I will have enough to live off (just about) but still need to work to live reasonably well and im still young enough to want to work. But want to do everything necessary to be a microentrepreneuse. Ive been letting rooms during holiday periods and also have people signed up to learn English with me.
So i will not be retiring. But i will declare all income through French tax office from August.
I sincerely hope this will be enough to apply for a carte Vitale.
If necessary i will do some part time seasonal work in our local ski station.
Either way i have enough to live off, still want to work, and will need a carte Vitale.
If you work that opens up a completely different set of options. Registering as a ME/AE gives you entry into the health system.