French-American and French health insurance?

[bluechip]

Hi, I am asking this for a friend.

She is French-American (two passports), married to a French guy for a long time, she works in France, has French government health insurance - the one everyone has.

1) Should she divorce her husband and return to the US, would she lose her French government health insurance over there?

2) If she goes live for some time in the US, how long can she be covered by the French government health insurance before she is no longer entitled to it, if that is the case? For example: she divorces and then goes live in the US for a year. During this time, is she still covered by the French government health insurance abroad?

Thanks.

[Bevdeforges]

The way the French health insurance works is that, provided you worked the requisite number of hours in Year 1, you'll have your Carte Vitale authorized through the end of Year 2. The Carte Vitale is only really good in France. Technically, if you are outside of France (and outside the EU) in Year 2, you can apply for reimbursement for "urgent" medical costs incurred outside of France. You will be reimbursed, however, only for the amount reimbursable per the French list of standard costs. (And obviously, unless you have kept up your mutuelle payments, you won't get anything back from your mutuelle.)

So, to answer your questions:
1. If she is working in France and has been contributing her cotisations, then the divorce will have no impact on her benefits eligibility - including health care, retirement, etc.

2. If she is in the US, she will only be entitled to reimbursement for "urgent" care for the period of time that her Carte Vitale is valid, and only at the French rates (which are WAY lower than US medical costs).

On return to France, she would have to return to work and start making cotisation contributions again - I think the period is about 3 months - before her coverage kicks back in.

"Urgent" care is anything that can't or shouldn't be left until she could return to France for treatment. I've claimed for replacement of broken eyeglasses, but the reimbursement is a pittance compared to the cost of a normal pair of eyeglasses in the US. Any truly emergency medical situation in the US would cost several times the potential reimbursement from the French system, so it's not quite accurate to say that she would be "covered" by the French system while living abroad.
Cheers,
Bev