Losing NHS coverage under Brexit

Thing is, we are not expats per se. I was born and bred in Switzerland, but moved to UK aged 19 and stayed 40 years. I have dual nationality- and for the past 5 years, so has OH, the other way round. But I am not entitled to any pension here because I never worked here- I left as soon as I finished my studies.

All our pension/income is from UK in £. We are VERY very lucky we could take the 50% hit in income by tightening belt- but if it goes down further due to falling exchange rate + losing healthcare- this would be a different story. I am not asking for any sympathy whatsoever - just saying as it is.

Imagine anyone facing this at a time when a severe illness is diagnosed and very expensive treatment due to start at the end of March ... as is happening to my best friend...

Mamie is absolutely right as far as I understand. We are entitled to join PUMA. It's interesting to note that it would be cheaper for the UK to continue paying for our health care in France than for us all to return to the UK. As others have said some of us continue to pay UK taxes as well as in France. The French authorities appear keen to support ex pats if possible.

Thanks jura that sounds very difficult without the S1. As I said I think it is in everyone's interest to keep it. We had been here a couple of years when Sarkozy's government threw us out of the CMU contributory health system. We couldn't get private insurance for OH. I have never forgotten how upsetting and frightening it was. Fortunately the EU legal system came to our rescue and the ruling was overturned.
I was very pleased to see the PUMA deal come in to force.

btw, if someone is unable to pay due to low income, some subsidies kick in- and for people on social welfare, basic insurance is paid by the state.

Yes Mamie- in Switzerland we have compulsory health insurance, provided by an array of Insurers- with a huge number of different policies- and with huge differences in premiums, depending on lots of things- including what 'franchise' you choose- eg the amount of mony you will have to pay out of your own pocket, per year, before the insurance takes over. The great thing is that they cannot refuse pre-exisiting conditions. Most people take 'basic' + 'supplementary' to give more choice and flexibility and to cover things that would normally not be covered (like some therapies like acupuncture, chiropractor, etc). We can't have supplementary, as we were refused due to age of joining and especially pre existing conditons.

We had done our research very carefully before moving here after we retired, first of all to look after my parents.
As retirees from UK, without any pension or income from Switzerland, we were entitled to Form S1- which gives us an exemption from Swiss Insurance- as for all retirees from EU and EEA. We still had to pay the first 300 per year each, + 10% up to a maximum of 700 (so 1000 each per year) - but if S1 becomes invalid- it will be about 1000 per month- and we still have to pay first 300 and 10% up to 700 on top.

It's a lot of money- combined with massive loss of income due to exchange rate which is likely to get worse. 50% down so far...

Did you have your injection? This year our MT gave us prescriptions to have the vaccine at home from the district nurses. We went to their surgery though ?.
Poor you, flu is horrible. Get well soon.

Yes sorry, Mamie I missed that (re your post on previous page.)
Not at my best, getting over a bad dose of flu. Strange, all the years we were in Framce I never had a cold or flu.

Is that related how the Swiss system works for the Swiss, Jura?
I think the principle now in France is that we get treated the same as the French.
I am optimistic that this is something that will get sorted. If the S1 continues the host countries get the money and the UK keeps us where we cost less money.
Mind you logic does not seem to be at the heart of the negotiations at the moment.

Here it would add about £1000 a month for 2.

Yes, it seems people in France will be OK.

For us in EEA, we have no idea what will happen. The uncertainty is very stressful indeed. For anyone recently diagnosed with an illness requiring very expensive treatment, this must be very hard, and added worry which they really don't need to add to the situation.

Fennel I put all the details about PUMA on page 1 of this thread. ? I really don't think retired people in France need to worry (unless they have failed to register for tax, in which case I have very little sympathy).

Very different in Switzerland - the only option is to buy private insurance- that would be about £450 each for basic - and we would still have to pay the first 500 or so, and then 10%.

@ the OP WoodieGreenie if you're still reading:
I've just read elsewhere that after you've been in France for 3 months you can apply to join the french health system.
You will have to pay, as most french people do one way or another. The amount is means tested but much less than private insurance.
And you'll have to register as a french tax payer, which we all did. We paid tax in both UK and France.

Almost 50% voted remain in 2016 but for the last two years most voters told pollsters they would chose Remain. The last poll was 54% in favour of the UK remaining in the EU.

I pay German health insurance, married to German National I was always in his system as a family member. Brexit makes no difference but I do know a lot of people who got added money for operations etc, I always thought that was unfair anyway. and wondered how the NHS could afford it.

What a lot of people don't know is that old people needing care get quite a bit of financial help here as all people in work pay 2% of their income into this 'care in old age' fund.
Most expats are not here anyway and those that are have good jobs and lately most are requesting German citzenship.

I can imagine France is no longer the ideal place to retire to.

I’m always hearing what fools the Brits are and have to correct them by saying that almost 50% of us did NOT want it.
OH! to just put the clock back!

I very much doubt whether many of those who voted leave gave any thought to the stress and distress it would cause.

Imagine being diagnosed with a life threatening illness- and the first day of your (very expensive) treatment, is on the day you lose reciprocal health care? How much more stress and distress would that cause? What is happening now to my best friend.

Not everyone moved for a few acres, chickens and vegetables.
Some of us moved to help elderly parents in their hour of need- after a lifetime of working for the UK for a lifetime- and therefore have no right to a pension in their country of birth...

Did you wath Angela Rippon and the massive and really dangerous problem with antibiotic resistance? All the research, as well as other medical research- is currently done internationally, and mostly with EU. These are not issues we will be able to solve in isolation. The firm I joined in 1970 won a Queen's award for inventing synthetic forms of antibiotics - which were sadly misused and abused.

Medical and drug research will be truly thwarted by leaving the EU.

Having lived in France for almost 15 years, (until last year), I concur entirely with Mamie.

We had many very happy years in France, but it was hard work, I still miss it.
As Mamie says, one of you needs to have a grasp of french to survive.
Having said that I knew of many who were living 'below the radar', which annoyed me. I don't think that will be possible now, good thing.

Those TV programmes have a lot to answer for!

And yes, the countryside, a few acres, chickens, vegetables and a bistro/café/brasserie and a patisserie in the village just up the road (that we could cycle to) was our French dream Mamie. We'd return with our freshly baked baguettes/batons and drink wine and eat cheese and fruit all afternoon....

Some friends, returning after twelve years living in the Dordogne put us straight. Life wasn't like 'Escape to the Continent' after all!

Thanks for that information Mamie. Very interesting. You obviously know the French system very well.

Does anyone know what the situation is in Spain? All I can find is that entering the Spanish system as an over 65 costs c720€ p.a. and you pay 100% of prescription charges.
Does anybody know the facts?

No they wouldn't Davidhs. If you settle in France (there is an income threshold for non EU), then you register for the tax system, confirm your arrival with your local Mairie and visit the relevant organisation for health cover. You should then be able to register for PUMA health cover - as this is France you need a multitude of documents, birth and marriage certificates, proof of income, electricity bill, proof of home ownership / rental to name but a few. You will not be discriminated against for existing conditions and the top-up insurance (costs us about 230€ a month) cannot discriminate either.
Private insurance is pretty impossible with pre-existing conditions.
What I would say is that you need a reasonable level of income and some French. I think the days of people arriving to "live the dream" on fresh air and a vegetable plot have gone. Most of them have gone too.