France is a popular destination for higher education. In addition to low university tuition fees, studying in France allows foreign students to experience a culture different from their own. During their stay in France, they are entitled to social protection, in particular to cover their medical costs.
What is membership in the basic plan?
You have surely heard of the affection that the French have for administrative red tape? Well, this is not an urban legend and you will quickly realize it when you apply for membership in the student health insurance plan.
Being affiliated with the basic scheme allows you to benefit from social protection. In the event of illness, social security will cover all or part of your expenses.
To supplement social security reimbursements, you can subscribe to complementary health insurance. If your resources are minimal and do not allow you to take out additional private health insurance, two options are available to you:
- Complementary universal health coverage (CMU-C)
- Assistance for complementary health (ACS).
CMU-C covers all your health expenses free of charge throughout your school year. You will need to renew it each year to continue to benefit from the service.
The ACS will be allocated to you in the form of a check through which you will be able to subscribe to a mutual health insurance scheme for one year. Thus, your complementary health insurance will reimburse you for the part that social security does not cover.
In both cases, you will benefit from third-party payment , that is to say that you will not have to pay up front for a consultation with the doctor or for the purchase of drugs at the pharmacy.
Who can benefit from social security?
Any student who enrolls in a higher education establishment for more than three months is entitled to social protection.
- If he is under the age of 28: he must be affiliated to the student social security scheme. This approach is the same time as the administrative registration and will be valid from 1 st October to 30 September of the current year.
- If he celebrates his 28 th birthday between 1 st October and 30 September of the year: it continues to benefit from social security under the student plan until the end of the academic year. He will then have to contact the health insurance of his municipality to start the procedures in order to be covered under the general scheme.
For a student from Switzerland or outside the European Economic Area (EEA), he must be covered by private insurance from his country of origin when he arrives in France until he can take steps to his administrative registration and apply for membership in the student social security scheme.
Who is exempt from the compulsory student regime?
There are certain exceptional cases where a foreign student is not obliged to be affiliated to the compulsory student scheme:
- Students over 28 are automatically affiliated to the general scheme;
- A salaried student who works 60 hours of work per month, or 120 per term;
- A student from a country in the European Economic Area (EEA).
Students from an EEA country must be affiliated with the social security of their country of origin, which will cover all their medical expenses during their stay in France.
Small reminder: For the 3 cases of figure, social security reimburses the costs of care but not at 100%. This non-refundable part is called a “remainder of the charge” and it is the complementary health insurance which reimburses it.
Translated from lelynx dot fr
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