Medical coverage

France doesn't have socialized medicine. I think the UK's NHS would qualify as that.

France has universal healthcare for all legal residents, citizens or not. However, it's not socialized. Physicians work for themselves or for the clinic or hospital that employs them. They don't work for the government.

I'm sure you'll get some anecdotes from travelers who have needed medical care in France. I don't have experience as a tourist here since I'm a resident, but I think you'll find costs to be much lower, both for care and for medications, than you might face in the U.S. (assuming you're from the U.S.).

The biggest fear many American travelers seem to have is having to pay for evacuation to the U.S. by airplane. I understand the cost for that is pretty steep yet the probability of it occurring for any individual is pretty low. Ultimately, it comes down to your risk tolerance. If the fear of it would keep you awake at night or cloud your mind, interfering with the enjoyment of your trip, then buying insurance might be worth the peace of mind for you.

I generally shop for travel insurance which covers medical care at insuremytrip.com.
If you purchase within 14-21 days of your first trip payment, in most cases, it covers preexisting medical conditions.
When my parents were living, I chose a policy which covered cancellation in case of urgent medical issues causing trip cancellation in first degree relatives.
When I had Covid in Switzerland, I had a telemedicine visit, and the Dr. called in prescriptions.
I paid up front, and submitted receipts when I returned home, for reimbursrment.

Check your own health insurance to see if it covers you for emergency care abroad. Ours always did and now our Medicare Gap policy covers us for 60K. Nevertheless we do get an annual travel insurance policy.

the one time I had a major medical issue -- a broken elbow in the south of France - I went to the ER in Menton after several days of pain and denial and they immediately x-rayed me and admitted me and I had surgery the next day. I was in the hospital 4 days in a two person room. Excellent care; terrible food. The cost was literally listed on the wall of their business office. X Euros per day for a surgical admission and X Euros a day for a medical admission. This cost covered everything except the 15 Euros for fiberglass for the cast; if I didn't want plaster my husband had to go buy the fiberglass at a nearby pharmacy. The total cost was about $4000 which my travel insurance Alianz paid directly to the hospital. French people of course would have paid nothing because it is covered by their health care system without cost.

I did a follow up orthopedic appointment, an X-ray and then physical therapy in Paris -- this added up to about $500 which the travel insurance reimbursed.

One thing should jump out at you here. In an emergency you get good care. And the costs are nowhere near the hose job inflicted on American by US health providers.

On other occasions I have taken minor problems to local doctors and as I recall the office visit was about 25 Euro and prescriptions were very reasonably priced.

We buy our travel insurance through GeoBlue. We needed it for the first time while in France last spring for an urgent care equivalent situation. The bill was so reasonable for facility fee, doctor fee and pharmacy (<100 euro) that we spent more on the insurance than we did for the medical care. But, we buy the travel insurance because what if had been a hospitalization or something much more serious.

We kept our receipts and submitted them when we returned and were quickly reimbursed.

The most confusing part of seeking medical care (we were in Rennes) was finding the appropriate medical facility. We went to a couple of medical facilities including the very large hospital in the city and were eventually directed to what we sort of know as an urgent care here in the US. Thank goodness for the wonderful care at the facility, the kind English speaking doctor and the helpful pharmacist.

I take no issue with anyone's opinion one way or the other on masking, but we traveled with a few in our carry on just in case, but this was something I never considered when tossing them in my carry on... I dropped my husband off at the door and went to go park. He texted me not to come in because everyone in the waiting room appeared to be sick, except my husband who had an injury. He quickly came out to grab a mask and we enjoyed another 3 weeks of travel; injury and illness free.

I'm confused as to your question. Are you already in France? Are you in need of medical care?

If you have not yet departed the US, the responsible thing to do would be to purchase medical travel insurance in the event of a medical emergency or illness.

Thank you all for your helpful and informative responses. We are not there now but will be this fall. I’m researching travel insurance and weighing how much medical coverage I should get. Your answers helped quite a bit

Our experience is that medical treatment and diagnosis is much less expensive in France (and indeed elsewhere in Europe) than in the US. My wife has unfortunately had two separate issues this month that required diagnostic blood tests, specialist visits and ultrasound tests. Also emergency room for almost 12 hours. Total cost was, I believe, about 200 euros. Prescriptions (primarily steroidal anti-inflammatories) were another 25 euros or so. We'll need to file a claim with our travel insurer, but even if we didn't these are not life-changing costs.

Getting sick in Europe gives one an interesting view of the many perverse incentives that have evolved in the American health system.

I agree with what Bob has stated, France does not have socialized medicine. It is more like universal Medicare, except that big business is not involved and costs for healthcare are much lower than those in the USA.

If you have a medical concern, the first place I would go is to my local pharmacy. Pharmacists often speak English, can help you with some medications, and will direct you to a physician if required. Doctor visits are usually 30€ to 35€. If there is an immediate or compelling reason for medical care, contact SOS Médecins and a doctor will be dispatched to your hotel or wherever you might be, 24/7. This typically costs about 90€.

https://www.sosmedecins.fr/

I would take these steps even with full medical care insurance.

Americans use 'socialized' medicine very loosely having been sold the idea that it produces terrible care (all the data notwithstanding) if everyone has access to decent health care.

While the costs are low for medical care in Europe, the reason for having insurance is the catastrophic situation which also involves transport back home. Those costs can bankrupt one. We went ahead and got an annual policy form Alianz which is pricey at our age. We hope to never find out how well it works. We also have a medical evacuation plan. You might find just relying on your own insurance (make sure it covers you abroad) and then adding a medical evacuation plan like Medjet assist covers the worst scenarios. It is the flight back with nurse, possibly in an air ambulance that will cost 100K plus.

Do you have a credit card that offers evacuation insurance?

I also use Insure my Trip to find the best medical coverage for each trip. They are very easy to work with and answer all my questions.