In France, you have to declare a medecin traitant before you can get your carte vitale, which is your government-funded insurance card. Also, it's useful to have a primary care physician, in case I break myself. We went through the same process with Jason so I decided I would just go to the doctor we got for him.
I called on a Wednesday to schedule an appointment. They got in me in on Friday. I waited about 10 minutes (I was a little early for my appointment) and then a friendly young doctor called me into his office. We chatted a bit about the nice weather, he asked me if I had any health problems, I said no, he took my blood pressure, and he filled out a form for me. All done! The visit cost me 24€ (about $30). The form he gave me can be submitted when my insurance clears and I will get 75% of that 24€ back automatically in my bank account.
(eventual) SUBTOTAL: 6€
I also needed a prescription for birth control. I had quite a stash saved up thanks to Jason's dad and his pharmacist friend but supplies were running low and I'm not trying to get arrested for smuggling prescription meds into France in the mail. Plus, it was a bit expensive. With my BCPSS insurance, I was only paying $10 for a 3-month supply. Jason's dad was charged cost price, which is $19 for one month. Yikes!
I went to the pharmacy today to get my prescription filled. Here is the exchange that took place:
Me: Bonjour! (Handed my prescription to the pharmacist)
Pharmacist: Bonjour. Do you have your Carte Vitale?
Me: No, I don't have one. It's complicated.
Pharmacist: Okay. No problem. Here is your medicine. That will be 5.06€
Me: Umm... What?
Pharmacist: Five euros and six cents. please. And that's for the 3 months. You seem surprised. I guess prices are a little higher in the US, huh? If you need a receipt I can make you one but I guess since you don't have insurance, you won't be able to get reimbursed. I'm sorry.
Me: It's okay. (Gave him a few coins) Thank you.
Pharmacist: No problem. Au revoir!
FIN.
GRAND TOTAL: 11.06€ for a doctor's visit and three months of prescription meds WITHOUT INSURANCE.
Now I try not to get political because it's certainly not my area of expertise and nothing makes me crankier than people running their ignorant mouths about things they know nothing about, but I can't help but think what this would have cost me in the US.
If you have good insurance, you pay nothing or a copay of about $10 to go to the doctor. Without insurance? Up to $100, and you're in and out of that office so fast it will make your head spin. We don't have time to talk about your health problems! Get some unnecessary tests done, take some expensive drugs and leave me alone. I have more patients to see so I can afford my malpractice insurance. Next!
We've already talked about the cost of my prescription. But what does it cost at the pharmacy if you don't have insurance? Anywhere between $37 and $162 per month. Yes, you can go to Planned Parenthood and get it for free if you qualify (read: are destitute), but the lowest you can go is about $15, depending on the specific location.
It seems like health insurance would reduce some of those costs but the insurance itself is astronomical as well! $16K to cover your family for the year, with a $2000 deductible. If you are enrolled in your company's plan, it will cost you $4,300 out of pocket.
I don't think that the Affordable Care Act is the most perfect solution to the health care mess in the US but at least it's a step in the right direction. I really don't understand how a wealthy industrialized nation can ignore the basic needs of its people.
Why didn't any of my students go to the doctor? Because they couldn't afford it and now they have serious health conditions that could have been prevented if they had had regular health screens. Why do people have to go to the emergency room when they have the flu? Because they don't have a primary care physician and now they have to pay crazy money for a hospital visit. Why did Walter White have to turn to a life of crime? Because his cancer treatments would have bankrupted his family.
There are many things about France they are not so great (dog shit in the street, strikes every other day, and why did you schedule our visa renewal appointments on the one day Jason would be out of town????) but they have this health care thing down. It's almost like the government is trying to be proactive about its citizens' health. Perhaps if we invest in taking care of people when they are well, they won't be sick quite as often or quite as severely! Maybe people won't be afraid to take care of their health problems because they know it won't leave them in the poor house if they go see a medical professional! And maybe, just maybe, if something serious does happen to us, all we would have to worry about is getting better and getting back to being a productive member of society instead of worrying about the price of your care.
You know what, France? You're alright sometimes.
