Non-emergency healthcare in Paris

An ultrasound should cost somewhere around 100€ to 150€ at a facility in Paris. You can schedule one on https://www.doctolib.fr/ or ask at any local pharmacy.

And if you are wishing for Medicare know this-it covers nothing overseas.

Maybe these links could be useful:

https://www.american-hospital.org/en

https://france.embassy.gov.au/pari/Engdoc.html

Medicare for all? Yeah you might wanna think about that.

But Medicare does not pay for any coverage or testing or anything else outside of the United States. Nothing! you cannot bring it home and submit it later for reimbursement.

I feel a little shocked that you are being told you can just show up someplace and ask for a ultrasound.

You may want to look into private medical providers. I used to work for healthcare company that ran hospitals for people with private insurance in the United Kingdom because there are a lot of people who are willing to pay good money to get out of the NHS “free “system. But ultrasounds generally require a medical order and generally that would have to be from a provider the organization is familiar with. Ultrasounds are not something you can usually walk it off the street and go out “I’d like one “ if it’s not emergent The American hospital might actually be your best bet and you might just reach out to them in advance and ask them some questions they have a Facebook page I know so there should be a way to get in touch with them

I think Tocard’s response is most helpful. That’s where I would start. And just fyi, The American Hospital is very good, but very expensive.

In a very general sense, the French medical system is medicare for all, but there is a private sector as well. I would not personally go to the American Hospital, it is not really in Paris and the fees there are very American-like.

Start with your local pharmacy and explain your situation. You may be directed to a local physician, but basic visits only cost 30€ to 35€. The likelihood that the local pharmacist or a medical professional speaks excellent English is very strong.

I think that indeed there is a 90% chance that you first need a referral / prescription from a physician before you can show up somewhere for an ultrasound. Thankfully, that added step is inexpensive (base rate 23€; some doctors in Paris do charge more).

But if the referral has to be from an obstetrician, that could take time and cost more. Since the report goes to your doctor, perhaps an order from your doctor would suffice. In France, results are handed to the patient to carry back to their doctor during a follow up appointment.

To add to the information provided thus far: I can't speak for Paris, but I'm quite confident it's the same there as at other cities I've used health care services in, such as Lyon and Caen. That is that most (not all) routine medical imaging work is done at specialized imaging clinics, not at hospitals. Here's a link to Google's opinion on where clinics doing fetal ultrasounds are located in central Paris.

They may be located near a hospital, but some certainly are not. For example, when we had to get our chest X-rays after moving to France, we went to an imaging clinic in the 6th arrondissement in Lyon not far from Les Halles Paul Bocuse. We were closer to the quenelles and poissonnerie than we were to the emergency room.

My wife's mammograms are done at an imaging clinic; not at a hospital. Ultrasound imaging (en Français, échographie) commonly is done at clinics -- mine was when I was being examined for something. I'm sure hospitals can and do do them under certain circumstances, but I also know imaging clinics do them routinely. At around 24 weeks, it looks as if you'll be needing une échographie morphologique.

Imaging that requires more specialized equipment and operators/interpreters, such as MRI (IRM en Français) are commonly done at hospitals, especially larger ones.

As noted above, the average cost (prix moyen) of a 2nd trimester ultrasound is 100€.

If you have an American relative in Paris, I would suggest they talk to their physician about seeing you to get the prescription you'll likely need.

I admit I am a little curious on why people think "well you just get a visit with any old doctor and he automatically gives you what you want".

I would suggest your get a written explanation of WHY you have to have the ultrasound THIS week in detail from your current OB/GYN and bring that with you. I think that would be more efficient then the "I want an ultrasound because it's week 24" I figure you are going to give up a day no matter what.

And then of course there's the issue of getting the ultrasound sent back to your provider in the US

Carol, I'm not a physician, but health care in France is fairly standardized and an ultrasound at Julia's stage of pregnancy is recommended and widely done -- it even has a name: une échographie morphologique. It's intended to assess the physical development of the fetus at a particular stage of growth, to check for abnormalities, and to determine the sex of the fetus. It is commonly given between 21 and 24 weeks after cessation of menstruation (what the French call SA, or semaines d’aménorrhée).

I suspect there would be little to no question of why the mother-to-be is requesting one. They all are supposed to get them at that stage of pregnancy. It's commonplace. Here's text taken from the linked article:

Elle n’est pas obligatoire mais fait partie des examens systématiquement prescrits durant le suivi de grossesse et fortement recommandés.

which means:

It's not compulsory but is done as part of the exams that are routinely prescribed during the course of pregnancy and is strongly recommended.

As for getting the results to her physician in the U.S. -- that's simple, as Bets noted above. At the clinic (or hospital) where they do the test they will give the patient a large envelope containing the images made, any measurements made, and a letter (in French) detailing the interpretation made by the person reviewing the ultrasound. Julia's challenge would be to have that letter translated for her doctor in the U.S., but a few dozen minutes of careful typing with an online machine translator like DeepL or Google Translate probably would suffice.

You may have concierge services available from your credit card company. If so, they can help you identify and locate medical providers. If you have travel insurance the same would likely be available. It's a place to start, anyway.

Thank you all. I will look into a dr appt to get the required French referral. I appreciate the thoughtful and helpful replies!

What I meant by “Medicare for all” was a universal healthcare system in the US that won't leave me pregnant and uninsured. Because health insurance is tied to employment in the US, and I am unexpectedly between jobs (& uninsured) for the month of May, I’m finding it extremely difficult to schedule a scan for the timeframe I need without having insurance. I don’t need insurance to cover my overseas non-emergency appt, I need insurance to be simple in my home country and support the healthcare I need. The only reason I would get a scan in France is because it’s medically necessary to do so in this timeframe and perhaps easier than dealing with the red tape of American insurance/scheduling/hospital systems.

Maybe French doctors are fine with doing this for patients they don't normally see but.. it will be interesting to see what really happens. I am not sure that any of the MDs I have ever worked with in my healthcare admin career would agree to this without some background data from the primary provider however.

Julia, hopefully you have your cobra information from your last employer If anything does go wrong in this uninsured month or two you will need it )

Julia, please report back and let us know if things went smoothly, I'm sure this kind of thing comes up now and then and could help someone else.

Good luck and hope everything goes well for you and the baby!