Choose a sector 1 approved doctor
Doctors choosing this sector practice the conventional tariff. You will therefore pay the consultation 23 € with a general practitioner, 28 € with a specialist. It is on this rate that Medicare is based to reimburse us. Be sure to stay in the “care course”, by first consulting your doctor. The approved sector 2 doctor has free fees. If you choose to consult it, Social Security will only reimburse you on the basis of the tariff for sector 1. The excess fees will be your responsibility.
To find a sector 1 approved doctor, go to www.ameli-direct.fr. This Health Insurance site allows you to check the price of consultations with the chosen doctor and to ensure that he takes the Vitale card. Remember to update yours, you will then be reimbursed within five days.
Ask for a quote before an intervention
The basic rate for interventions is fixed by agreement between the medical professions and the health insurance. This is not the case for non-reimbursed acts, such as cosmetic surgery. The price of the operation can then be discussed with the surgeon. An estimate is obligatory anyway from 70 €, whatever the type of surgery.
Get help from your health insurance fund
Some offer to analyze the quote for you and even help you lower the note. This is the case of the Santéclair network (Maaf, Allianz, MMA, Mutuelle de la police, etc.), which offers its customers the possibility of analyzing their quotes online. The price requested by the surgeon is compared with that set by other establishments, taking into account their track record for the operation in question.
Drugs: find the right price
80% of drugs sold without a prescription and non-reimbursable have a free price, unlike label drugs. The amount can vary from simple to triple depending on the pharmacy. In its 2012 Medicines Observatory, the association Families Rurales noted significant price differences on a number of common medicines. From €1.88 to €4.20 for Nurofen®; from €3.79 to €7.70 for Strepsil® tablets, and from €3.69 to €8.90 for Rennie®. Difficult, in this case, to know the right price!
Anticipate!
During the consultation, you can ask your doctor if the prescribed medicine is reimbursed by Social Security and if not, ask for the reimbursed equivalent, if there is one. In the event of recurring problems (recurrent cystitis, for example), you can request a prescription in advance so as not to have to consult again and, above all, to be able to treat you quickly. Medicines that you use more or less regularly (Doliprane®, Spasfon®, etc.) will also be reimbursed to you if they appear on a prescription.
Adopt new reflexes
Ask for the molecule, not the drug brand. For example, saying “I would like ibuprofen” and not “I would like Nurofen®” saves money. Check that there is not a cheaper solution. This is very often the case for certain antidiarrheals, for example. Over-the-counter, you pay for them full price, whereas if they were prescribed to you by your doctor, you are reimbursed.
Find out about the price according to the galenic (tablets, effervescent tablets, capsules…): it can vary greatly for analgesics.
Check price comparison sites
The topdesmédocs iPhone application (€1.79) lets you know what’s on the self-medication market. All drugs are ranked from 0 to 20 according to their effectiveness with, opposite, the average price in pharmacies. Some sites also offer to compare prices. For example, that of Leclerc (www.sesoignermoinscher.com) which compares the prices of parapharmacy products, or the site www.prixmedicament.com
Try alternative medicine for small problems
Homeopathic medicines cost up to five times less than allopathic treatments, even if they are less well reimbursed (only 30%).
Deadlines for reimbursement
Disease : Have you found old care sheets forgotten at the bottom of a drawer? Know that you have two years to get reimbursed. This period runs from the date of treatment and expires at the end of the same calendar quarter, two years later.
Maternity: if your reimbursements relate to care you received when you were expecting a baby, this two-year period runs from the date of the first medical finding of your pregnancy.
Orthodontics: this care is covered up to the age of 16 and with the agreement of the health insurance. You then have six months after the agreement to have them carried out: after this period, you will not be reimbursed.
Optics: To have your glasses renewed, there is no need for a new prescription from your ophthalmologist. A prescription less than 3 years old is enough. Ask your optician to make you undergo a few tests to check that your sight has not changed.