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For expats, navigating French health insurance paperwork can feel overwhelming. Forms, reimbursements, and appointments often include confusing acronyms and unfamiliar terms. This bilingual glossary of essential French insurance and healthcare vocabulary is designed to help you understand the system and handle your medical admin confidently.
Essential French Health Insurance Terms (and What They Mean)
Carte Vitale is the green health card that registers you with the French public health system. It connects directly to Assurance Maladie (the national health insurance) and allows automatic reimbursement for most medical expenses.
Mutuelle refers to top-up or complementary health insurance. It covers the part of medical bills not reimbursed by Assurance Maladie. This is especially important if you want to reduce out-of-pocket expenses.
Assurance Maladie is France’s state health insurance system, which reimburses a significant percentage of medical fees. If you're legally residing in France, you may qualify under the PUMA system (Protection Universelle Maladie).
ALD (Affection Longue Durée) applies to long-term illnesses like cancer or diabetes. If you're diagnosed with an ALD, related care is covered at 100% by the public system.
Médecin traitant is your registered general practitioner. Naming a referring doctor is required for maximum reimbursement under the parcours de soins or coordinated care pathway.
Parcours de soins coordonnés refers to France’s coordinated care model. To get the best reimbursements, you should first consult your médecin traitant before seeing a specialist.
Feuille de soins is a paper form used when your Carte Vitale isn’t accepted. You'll need to send it to Assurance Maladie to request reimbursement manually.
Ordonnance means prescription. Most medical treatments and medications require a valid ordonnance to be covered or reimbursed.
Forfait hospitalier is the daily hospital fee you pay during overnight stays (currently €20/day). Most mutuelles reimburse this entirely.
Remboursement is the money reimbursed by the state or your mutuelle after a medical service. Most consultations are reimbursed at 70% of official rates, and the rest can be covered by a mutuelle.
Ticket modérateur is the leftover amount after state reimbursement—what you're responsible for paying unless you have a mutuelle.
Dépassement d’honoraires are excess fees charged by doctors who go beyond the state-set fee limits. Some mutuelles cover this, but not all.
Médecin conventionné secteur 1 or 2 indicates a state-affiliated doctor. Sector 1 doctors follow state pricing; Sector 2 doctors may charge higher fees.
Common Acronyms in French Healthcare
France is known for its administrative shorthand, so you’ll likely encounter acronyms in health documents.
CPAM stands for Caisse Primaire d’Assurance Maladie, your local social security office. They issue your Carte Vitale and process reimbursements.
AME (Aide Médicale de l’État) provides basic care access to undocumented immigrants.
PUMA (Protection Universelle Maladie) allows legal residents to join the public health system.
Sécu is slang for Sécurité Sociale, which covers healthcare, pensions, and family benefits.
ARS is the Agence Régionale de Santé, a regional health authority.
DMP (Dossier Médical Partagé) is your shared electronic medical file.
MT is shorthand for médecin traitant, your referring doctor.
These abbreviations are common across healthcare forms and correspondence, so becoming familiar with them will save you confusion.
Key Phrases to Use at Medical Appointments
If you're not fluent in French yet, a few essential phrases can go a long way in helping you navigate appointments:
“Je voudrais prendre rendez-vous avec un médecin.” – I’d like to make an appointment with a doctor.
“Voici ma Carte Vitale.” – Here’s my Vitale card.
“J’ai une ordonnance.” – I have a prescription.
“Est-ce que ce traitement est remboursé ?” – Is this treatment reimbursed?
“Puis-je utiliser le tiers payant ?” – Can I use the third-party payment system?
At pharmacies, you’ll hear:
“Je viens chercher mes médicaments.” – I’m here to pick up my medication.
“Avez-vous besoin de mon ordonnance ?” – Do you need my prescription?
Learning these basic phrases can reduce stress and help you feel more in control of your care.
Why Understanding Terminology Matters
Many expats misunderstand how French health insurance works because of unfamiliar terminology. Not knowing whether your doctor is conventionné, how the parcours de soins works, or what the ticket modérateur is can lead to unnecessary costs and frustrations.
Getting the right mutuelle is also much easier when you understand the language around coverage levels, dépassements d’honoraires, and tiers payant.
To wrap it all up
Getting to grips with French healthcare terminology is the first step to making the system work for you, not against you. From your Carte Vitale to choosing the right mutuelle, understanding these terms ensures you're better protected and more confident in managing your health.
At Fab French Insurance, we offer English-speaking support to help expats choose the right insurance plan and understand what their policy really covers. Whether you’re new to France or already navigating renewals, we’re here to make sure no jargon stands in your way.
👉 Learn more about your options for private health insurance and top-up health insurance.
