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HEALTHCARE

Carte vitale: How much will dental and eye care appointments cost me?

The basic health insurance you are entitled to with your carte vitale covers you for a certain amount of dental and eye care. Here's a look at what you need to know.

Published: 15 May 2019 12:33 CEST
Carte vitale: How much will dental and eye care appointments cost me?
Photo: AFP
Working out what your carte vitale entitles you to within the French health service can be a complicated business. 
 
After taking a look at what you can claim back from the French state with your carte vitale if you have the basic cover afforded by the card, with no top-up insurance, in terms of general healthcare, this time we're focusing on what happens when it comes to dental and eye care. 
 
This is what you need to know. 
 
READ ALSO:

Carte vitale: What your French health insurance card entitles you toPhoto: AFP

Teeth
 
Dentist appointments
 
Helpfully dentist appointments are reimbursed in exactly the same way as appointments with GPs, which means you will receive 70 percent back from the French State on the cost of your consultation. 
 
Like doctors, dentists in France work under two sectors – sector one dentists mostly charge the standard €23 apart from in exceptional circumstances, while sector two dentists are entitled to charge more, and you will not get refunds for any amount over the €23 minimum. 
 
That means that in most cases you will receive €16.10 back from the French State for your appointment. 
 
You can check which sector a dentist works under on the official site of France's state health insurance ameli.fr and it will also be listed if you are booking an appointment through the Doctolib app. 
 
Unlike when you visit other specialists you do not need to a referral from your registered GP first to get the 70 percent reimbursement (for more on that read here) and you are free to consult a dentist at any time. 
 
Dental care 
 
The list of reimbursed dental care includes removal of tartar, treatment for decay, as well as tooth removal, among other services, and you will get 70 percent back, with prices for each service varying. 
 
For example if you visit a dentist for tartar removal it will cost  €28.92 and, with the basic reimbursement of 70 percent, you will receive €20.24 of that cost back. 
 
Meanwhile for root-canal work on a molar tooth, which is far more expensive at €81.94, you will receive €57.35 back from the French State. 
 
For the full price list of services visit the dental care section of the ameli.fr site. 
 
Photo: AFP
 
False teeth
 
The price of certain treatments on false teeth was capped as of April 1st 2019 to make treatment more accessible. 
 
That means that dentists are not allowed to charge more than the maximum price agreed with the French State for 11 types of care, including crown implants (€107.50) and a complete set of dentures (€182.75). 
 
It's important to remember that the government is set to bring in a round of further changes set to make dental care even more accessible over the next couple of years, with certain dental surgery set to be 100 percent covered by basic health insurance. 
 
This will include the cost of metal crowns for back teeth and ceramic crowns for more visible teeth at the front of the mouth as well as certain kinds of bridges and dentures. 
 
While costs will be capped on other kinds of dental surgery, such as the fitting of a ceramic crown at the back of the mouth.
 
Eyes
 
Appointments with eye doctors are not reimbursed by the French State, however basic health insurance will cover the some of the costs of your prescription glasses. 
 
The reimbursement system is particularly favourable to those aged under 18. 
 
If you are under 18, frames are reimbursed by 60 percent on the basis of a cost set at €30.49 and lenses are reimbursed at 60 percent of the cost, with prices varying according to the kind of prescription you need. 
 
For example the cost of single focus clear lenses you will be reimbursed 60 percent of €12.04 – even if they cost more, while for the most serious prescriptions you will be reimbursed 60 percent of €66.62, and again that's even if they end up costing you more. 
 
Photo: AFP
 
Meanwhile, if you are over 18, you'll also be refunded 60 percent of the price of your frames – but the catch is that this is based on a cost set at €2.84. 
 
Similarly the price you'll be refunded for on your lenses is also much lower. 
 
For the lowest prescriptions you will 60 percent of €2.29 back and for the most serious prescriptions, you will receive 60 percent of €24.54 back. 
 
For the full list of reimbursements on eye care, check the ameli.fr site here.
 
However there is some good news for anyone who can hold off on getting their specs for another year. 
 
From 2020, the price of glasses will be fully covered for “quality lenses” and for frames costing up to €30. 
 
Opticians will stock 17 adult frames and seven children's models, all available in multiple colors and wearers will be able to renew them every two years and once a year for under-15s. 
 
On the other hand, customers who want branded frames or a special treatment on the lenses may have to cover part of the cost themselves, depending on the benefits of their top-up health insurance known as a “mutuelle”.

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Five signs you’ve settled into life in Switzerland

Getting adjusted to Swiss ways is not always easy for foreign nationals, but with a lot of perseverance it can be done. This is how you know you’ve assimilated.

Published: 30 September 2021 16:50 CEST
Updated: 14 August 2022 07:05 CEST
Five signs you've settled into life in Switzerland
No lint: Following laundry room rules is a sign of integration in Switzerland. Photo by Sara Chai from Pexels

Much has been said about Switzerland’s quirkiness, but when you think about it, this country’s idiosyncrasies are not more or less weird than any other nation’s — except for the fact that they are expressed in at least three languages which, admittedly, can complicate matters a bit.

However, once you master the intricacies and nuances of Swiss life, you will feel like you belong here.

This is when you know you’ve “made it”.

You speak one of the national languages, even if badly

It irritates the Swiss to no end when a foreigner, and particularly an English-speaking foreigner, doesn’t make an effort to learn the language of a region in which he or she lives, insisting instead that everyone communicates to them in their language.

So speaking the local language will go a long way to being accepted and making you feel settled in your new home.

You get a Swiss watch and live by it

Punctuality is a virtue here, while tardiness is a definite no-no.

If you want to ingratiate yourself to the Swiss, be on time. Being even a minute late  may cause you to miss your bus, but also fail in the cultural integration.

‘The pleasure of punctuality’: Why are the Swiss so obsessed with being on time?

Using an excuse like “my train was late” may be valid in other countries, but not in Switzerland.

The only exception to this rule is if a herd of cows or goats blocks your path, causing you to be late.

A close-up of a Rolex watch in Switzerland.

Owning a Rolex is a sure sign you’re rich enough to live in Switzerland. Photo by Adam Bignell on Unsplash

You sort and recycle your trash

The Swiss are meticulous when it comes to waste disposal and, not surprisingly, they have strict regulations on how to throw away trash in an environmentally correct manner.

Throwing away all your waste in a trash bag without separating it first — for instance, mixing PET bottles with tin cans or paper — is an offence in Switzerland which can result in heavy fines, the amount of which is determined by each individual commune.

In fact, the more assiduous residents separate every possible waste item — not just paper, cardboard, batteries and bottles (sorted by colour), but also coffee capsules, yogurt containers, scrap iron and steel, organic waste, carpets, and electronics.

In fact, with their well-organised communal dumpsters or recycling bins in neighbourhoods, the Swiss have taken the mundane act of throwing out one’s garbage to a whole new level of efficiency.

So one of the best ways to fit in is to be as trash-oriented as the Swiss.

READ MORE: Eight ways you might be annoying your neighbours (and not realising it) in Switzerland

You trim your hedges with a ruler

How your garden looks says a lot about you.

If it’s unkempt and overgrown with weeds, you are clearly a foreigner (though likely not German or Austrian).

But if your grass is cut neatly and your hedges trimmed with military-like precision (except on Sundays), and some of your bushes and shrubs are shaped like poodles,  you will definitely fit in.

You follow the laundry room rules

If you live in an apartment building, chances are there is a communal laundry room in the basement that is shared by all the residents.

As everything else in Switzerland, these facilities are regulated by a …laundry list of “dos” and “don’ts” that you’d well to commit to memory and adhere to meticulously.

These rules relate to everything from adhering to the assigned time slot to removing lint from the dryer.

Following each rule to the letter, and not trying to wash your laundry in someone else’s time slot, is a sign of successful integration.

Voilà, the five signs you are “at home” in Switzerland.

READ MORE: French-speaking Switzerland: Seven life hacks that will make you feel like a local

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