I’m on Enbrel, plus MTX and a multitude of other drugs and it costs me about 4euros a month… diseases like RA are classed as affections longe durée (ALD) so your costs are covered 100% once you are in the health system. So if you are french resident, and join the health system, and find a hospital based rheumatologist to provide the prescription then no problem at all.
If you are covered by some type of insurance rather than being in the french health system then I really don’t know - sorry! I guess it depends what you mean by insurance, as some I know won’t cover chronic or pre-existing conditions. All I do know is that the Enbrel itself costs 760 euros a month, so whoever’s providing it for you in the US is paying or charging over the odds!
My wife, Florence, is French and her parents own their house in Carmaux in the Tarn (81).
As they are looking to move into a retirement complex, and Flo and I are wanting to buy our home in France, it made sense to buy her parents house.
Carmaux is a small town between Albi and Rodez. Not your normal French tourist town but I have come to know it quite well over the 12 years Flo and I have been married. It is pleasant enough, within easy travelling distance of the Pyrenees, and the airport at Toulouse is not far away. I know of a few Brits who live close by to the town (one being Andrew of this parish - and I have visited his tobacconist shop on a few occasions!) but there are none that I know of very close by - but that is of concern to me. Flo’s brother lives not too far away, in St, Sulpice, and her son lives near Aix en Provence. I have no children of my own so the move, for me, will be an easy one!
It’s really good to know that RA is covered so comprehensively in France. I understand that it takes a while to get registered though. My consultant would probably organize a few months worth to tide me over until I was in the system.
Apart from lack of rheum specialists the care here has been great, including physio and podiatrist. But on moving over you have to be super-organised. Generally the NHS will only give you 3 months supply of drugs, and you can only start the registration for french health service once you have been living here 3 months…so you will need to organise getting prescriptions quite quickly (cost is not an issue as once your registration to health service is acknowledged you will get costs paid back eventually). And remember to get your full medical notes before you leave.
Jane… I think I am correct in saying that folk have to have a Health Insurance Policy in place before they make an application to join the French system… ???
That’s the theory…I was never asked. Which was lucky as we hadn’t bothered. I think in many cases it’s accepted that in your first 3 months here you are still quasi UK resident, so are still covered by your UK EHIC, so they don’t ask. And I was on CPAM’s doorstep at 3 months plus 1 day.
We had health insurance in place but were never asked either. I’ve always thought it was a requirement…it’s a bit confusing really as most of us, if asked, would recommend new arrivals to take out a policy.
Hi Jane
When we looked in France for a property back in April 2018, the agent said the house we liked was in St Claud and on visiting we instantly liked the friendliness of this little town. However, the actual property For viewing was about 6kms away and very rural. We fell in love with it and move in October, it’s very close to Les Paradis. I understand that there are a few English speaking GP and one British lady GP close by which may help with your health issue if your French is rusty. Confolens has a very nice hospital, had experience of it on a trip in June but language was an issue as my French is VERY limited. I hear good things about Hospitals in Angouleme. I hope you find what you want property wise and best wishes on your health.
Thank you Elle,
St Laurent de Ceris is one of the small villages we are visiting in September. When we were in Saint Claud before we thought it was very friendly, one of the reasons we are looking nearby. The other reason is totally irrational and not to be emulated when making decisions on where to live but we saw the best sunset of our 50 odd years there, so much so that we pulled over and sat on the car roof just sky watching for absolutely ages. It has stuck in our heads for years now.
We are about to embark on our first forage. As its a big country we are going to start in Normandy - just booking a house there for a week and taking Coco our chocolate lab with us as only about 4.5 hrs from Calais. Last time we were in the “area” was when we stayed in a really old apartment in Rouen old district just a short walk to the main square in 2017, on the way back from the Dordogne.
Jane, I hope you will be very happy in your chosen area and I’m sure the warmth will benefit your condition. In April we stayed a week in Beaulieu-sur- sonette and we witnessed some lovely sunsets so I can understand your heart over head decision. The April temperatures were 27c to 34c, so warm, amazing! Fortunately our new place has a pool so I can keep active until I join a Pilates class. The St Claud info centre was very helpful in advising what clubs were available. My hobby is Photography and wildlife walks and my daughter is into felting, so we will be looking to join groups which we think will help develop our language skills too.
We had only been to France twice, once in a cold winter near Dinan in Brittany then off a ship at Toulon for the day.
When we decided to move to France it was purely on property. First we went house hunting around Carcassonne and Beziers then around Cognac, then Parthenay.
We bought a big old farmhouse in Deux Sevres, a year later moving back to uk. Sold then seen a farmhouse in Vendée, sold then off to Dordogne which was/is much much nicer area then back to uk. Now, after a few years in uk we’re off to Finistere because as with our UK place which we’ll have this time, we prefer coastal and not an 8 hour drive from the port.
But usually its what we can get for our £££s
As with many of life’s decisions, it was actually my parents that made the choice to buy in our tiny hamlet (actually a lieu-dit) on the southern limit of the Lot department. After my father died in 2001, I was the only one of the heirs to have an interest in the property and thus offered to administer this part of the estate. The result was that I had a vacation home in a lovely, but quite isolated, region for the next 11 years for which I only paid a third of the expenses. During this time, I did begin to understand and share the love that my father had for this region and offered to buy out my brothers’ shares after I retired.
One observation: Even small, rural hamlets are not set in stone nor in time. There are some 20 properties in our hamlet. About half of them are only occupied part time. Only a small handful of these homes have not changed hands, some more than once, during the 40 years since I started to visit this area. Some of the residents returned to the UK or move elsewhere and most significantly even those that stay on have gotten older. If you plan on buying, I suggest that you consider where you see yourselves some years down the road.
I am in the Charante because so called friends said if I moved near them they could help me! So down I came after 15 years in Brittany. As I am alone it was a wonderful offer. They got divorced and are no longer in a position to be helpful.
