RSI and CIPAV advise needed please

Hi


Can anyone help as I am feeling confused.com, I have searched the internet for answers but hitting my head against a brick wall.


I have become Auto-entrepreneur the work I do is classed as professional. I have been dealing with Harmonie Mutuelle for my medical cover and on all the letter heads it say RSI, however today I received a letter from the CIPAV.


I was of the understanding you either belong to the RSI or CIPAV, so why have I got both?


What is the connection between Harmonie Mutuelle and the RSI?


Is there a connection between Harmonie Mutuelle and the CIPAV?


Next question do you pay tax and RSI or CIPAV?


Does the amount of tax you pay every quarter include RSI/CIPAV charges, or are these paid separately?


As I don’t want to be in a situation where I am paying all 3 due to an error on their part.


Thanks in advance


Er no.

OH got stung by a hornet. Whilst the hospital part was reasonable (65%), ambulance to rush him to casualty was only 60% (plus 4€ PF) Overall it cost us 180€. Considering we had not had a mutuelle we probably came out ahead.

Overall charges here are more reasonable than the US, but it is not like the UK and you will be charged. Even ALD needs doctor to sign it off regularly.

But as you get older, mutuelle payments go up. I figure decent cover is 1€ per year of age (so 50 year old pays about 50€ per month roughly).

That said, I prefer to call a mutuelle a 'top up tax'. So you pay part of you income to the state for 65% of your health cover and then pay a further 35% to a private company income post tax. Clever.

And big thank you from me -)

That's very helpful Jane, thanks. I have heard that emergency treatment is free, too. Hope your scans continue to be clear.

There is one point here Wendy and that is that if you have an illness of long standing, ALD, then your treatment is free.

I had breast cancer in UK and my follow up scans here are all free. I had one on Monday, clear, but the clerk had not noticed the ALD30 on my prescription and had to then deduct the charge.

There is a comprehensive list on ameli.fr which gives you all the conditions to which ALD applies.

Yes, definitely a must for teeth and glasses if like me one is of a "certain âge" :-)

I would ask them. Either ring them up or find out their nearest office and go and see them. But I am pretty sure a Mutuelle is for your top up insurance and you can discuss with them what they cover and for how much.

There are a couple of comparison sites on the internet for Mutuelles. We are in the process of choosing one. It is a whole other ballgame in mind numbing complication as different policies offer you varying levels of cover for each element of your health care. You need to make a list of all the medical things you think you may need (glasses? dental work? maternity? ) and then ask yourself if you think you are in the bracket for any other major mishap (cancer, heart problems, diabetes etc) to decide what you actually need to pay for in the way of cover. Someone else on SFN once said that if you think your annual medical treatment is simply going to be the odd to the Doc for some antibiotics, then frankly a mutuelle isn't necessary.

Thank you so much Wendy for you help, it's like a mine field and I want to get it right.

Just one more question.....I think.....lol

When I signed up for the AE it gives a list of Medical organisations which you can belong too, I selected Harmonie Mutuelle.

The forms I am get from Harmonie Mutuelle which also have RSI on the letter head, is this for my 30% Top up insurance or the 70%?

Regards

Aw thanks gals! It's great to know that after 6 months of pillar to posting I have actually got the right information. I'm chuffed!

Catharine is right. Well done Wendy! Excellent reply.

Brilliantly comprehensive reply - thank you Wendy!

I can now go and deal with my chicken stock instead of trying to string something vaguely coherent together....and as I need more coffee, dealing with the stock is by far the better option! x

My husband recently recently registered as an AE and we have spent the last 6 months understanding who does what.

RSI are responsible for your health cover. If you are a Profession Liberale, you will deal with the offices of RAM who are the part of the RSI dedicated to independent workers. They will issue you with a social security number (if you don't already have one) send you letters asking for proof of identity etc so they can start the process of issuing a Carte Vitale.

A Mutuelle is a company who provide top up health cover insurance. Check what you have been sent from them because you are not obliged to take up their cover. You can choose your own company or even choose not to have Mutuelle insurance. Your Carte Vitale will cover you for 70% of most medical treatment and prescriptions. It's up to you what you do about the other 30% (or more depending on the level of treatment you have, but that is a whole other topic of discussion dealt with much better elsewhere on SFN!)

CIPAV we have been told are the ones responsible for the retirement part of your social cover. As far I can discover, they will send you an attestation telling you you are now in the pension system and thats probably about it until you near retirement.

We make a declaration every 3 months to URSSAF and pay them the cotisations (23,1% of all earnings for a profession liberale). This is the total payment for all the services and URSSAF are just the receiving body.

In addition, you will be required to make a tax declaration (Declaration des Revenus) next year (May) and any tax you may owe will be billed around August 2015.

Beware, you will be sent many letters from organizations claiming you should be signed up with them for health cover or pensions. You do not have to act on any of these unless you want to. They are basically unsolicited advertising.

You may also be sent forms in error so always check what is being asked and if necessary go to your local office and ask.

We have spent many hours traipsing from office to office to find the right people to answer our questions. But what we have found without exception is that everyone is helpful and polite, even if its 'not their counter'. It may take you a little while, but once you have found the right cabinet you can be assured that all will become clear and relatively simple.

Of course, the information I have given is based on my husband's situation as a profession liberale in the AE system. Yours may be a whole different kettle of poissons!

Good luck