Doctors, insurance and emergencies in Lyon

Opening your rights

Cover in France is residence-based under PUMa, and every adult from 18 is covered individually rather than as someone's dependent. If you are employed, affiliation is immediate on approval. If you are not, the three months of stable and regular residence apply, followed by a requirement to be present in France at least six months a year, though refugees, returning volunteers and AAH recipients skip the wait. Registration is handled by the CPAM du Rhône, and non-EEA nationals must hold a valid residence document before they can apply at all.

• The CPAM typically asks for a birth certificate, identity documents, the titre de séjour, a French RIB and a proof of address, which is why the flat and the bank account come first.
• Non-EU students register separately, through the dedicated service at etudiant-etranger.ameli.fr rather than the ordinary CPAM route.
• How long the CPAM du Rhône takes to issue a number is not published. Ask when you file, and keep every receipt in the meantime.
• EU, EEA and Swiss arrivals can use a European Health Insurance Card or a portable document S1 for immediate cover.

The carte Vitale

The card takes about two weeks if you request it through an Ameli account and about three weeks by post. While you wait, the attestation de droits downloaded from that account is your proof of cover and is usually accepted at the desk. A mobile carte Vitale app has been available nationwide since November 2025, activated either through France Identité or by a video check with your ID and a selfie.

What you actually pay

France reimburses rather than pays, so you hand money over at the appointment and the refund follows. A consultation with a secteur 1 GP costs €30 and brings back €19, being 70 per cent of €30 less the €2 flat charge, and a secteur 1 specialist charges the same €30. A secteur 2 doctor who has signed the OPTAM agreement may charge more but is still reimbursed on a €30 base, while one who has not is reimbursed on a base of only €23, returning €14.10 whatever the bill says. Ask which sector a doctor is in before you book, not after.

• A participation forfaitaire of €2 applies per consultation or medical act, capped at four acts a day with the same provider and, from 1 October 2026, at €70 a year instead of €50.
• Franchises: €1 per box of medicine, €1 per paramedical act up to €4 a day, €4 per medical transport up to €8 a day, under a combined annual cap that also rises from €50 to €70 on 1 October 2026.
• A visit to A&E without admission carries a €23 forfait patient urgences, or €9.96 for certain patients.
• A heavy procedure priced at €120 or more carries a €32 forfait.

The médecin traitant

From the age of 16 you must declare a médecin traitant, either by having the doctor register it straight from your carte Vitale or by signing a paper declaration and sending it to the CPAM. Without one, the ticket modérateur on a GP visit rises from €9 to €21, so the cost of not bothering is more than double on every visit. Exceptions apply in an emergency, when you are away from home, and when your declared doctor is unavailable or retired within the last twelve months.

The mutuelle

Statutory cover leaves a balance, and a complémentaire santé, universally called a mutuelle, pays it. An employer can offer a collective contract which employees are generally obliged to join, save for a list of exceptions, and which is usually more advantageous than an individual policy. A compliant responsible contract covers the remaining co-payments, the full pharmaceutical reimbursement base, the whole hospital daily charge and the 100% Santé basket for dental, optical and hearing aids. Low-income residents apply instead for the Complémentaire santé solidaire.