Home › Explained sheets › Living in French society
Health: coverage and reimbursement
The sheet explains how health costs are reimbursed. Registration with health insurance (Assurance maladie) is compulsory.
Key points of the sheet
- When registration is validated, you receive a 15-digit social security number. It is often asked for in administrative or work procedures.
- Before validation, you may receive a temporary number (Numéro Identifiant d'Attente, NIA). You can be covered, but you are not yet registered.
- You also receive a personal carte Vitale (health insurance card). It proves your rights. You give it to the health professional during a consultation.
- The professional sends an electronic care form to health insurance. This starts the reimbursement. This is called electronic transmission (télétransmission).
- You ask for reimbursement from the primary health insurance fund (caisse primaire d'Assurance maladie).
- You need to choose a family doctor (médecin traitant). Always seeing the same general practitioner gives good medical follow-up.
- The carte Vitale is not a payment card. It allows third-party payment (tiers-payant) when possible: you do not pay in advance the amount health insurance reimburses.
- The Ameli account is the personal online space of health insurance (Assurance maladie). It lets you follow your reimbursements.
Words to know
- social security number (numéro de sécurité sociale)
- It is a unique, personal 15-digit identifier. It shows that you have health insurance.
- temporary identification number (NIA) (Numéro Identifiant d’Attente (NIA))
- This number may be given before registration is validated. You may be covered, but you are not yet registered.
- carte Vitale (health insurance card)
- It is a personal card that proves your health insurance rights. It is not a payment card.
- electronic care form (feuille de soins électronique)
- The health professional sends it to health insurance. It starts the reimbursement.
- electronic transmission (télétransmission)
- It is sending the electronic care form to health insurance using the carte Vitale.
- family doctor (médecin traitant)
- It is the general practitioner you always see. It gives good medical follow-up.
- third-party payment (tiers-payant)
- You do not pay the reimbursed amount in advance. Health insurance pays the health professional directly.
- Ameli account (compte Ameli)
- It is the personal online space of health insurance. It is used, for example, to follow your reimbursements.
Test yourself: 3 questions
How many digits does the social security number have?
In French, the language of the exam: Combien de chiffres a le numéro de sécurité sociale ?
The social security number is a unique, personal 15-digit identifier.
What is the sending of the electronic care form to health insurance called?
In French, the language of the exam: Comment s'appelle l'envoi de la feuille de soins électronique à l'Assurance maladie ?
The health professional sends an electronic care form to health insurance. This is called electronic transmission (télétransmission).
What is the Ameli account?
In French, the language of the exam: Qu'est-ce que le compte Ameli ?
The Ameli account is the personal online space of health insurance.
You have read the sheet. See where you stand with 40 questions like the real exam.
Take the free mock exam (40 questions)Free mock exam · Exam Pass €19 incl. VAT, paid once, no subscription
Questions on the ministry's list that rest on this sheet
- What is the tiers payant?
- Which body do you ask to be reimbursed for health costs?
- What is registration with the Assurance maladie (health insurance)?
- What is the carte Vitale for?
More in this topic (Health)
- Health: the rights and duties of the patient
- Access to care: the general practitioner
- Access to healthcare: the care pathway
Source
Sheet “Santé : la prise en charge et le remboursement” of the French Ministry of the Interior: formation-civique.interieur.gouv.fr. Content published under the Etalab Open Licence 2.0. This page is a plain-language adaptation made by Hexaciv, which is not an official site: if in doubt, the ministry's text is the one that counts.
Ministry sheet read on 23 October 2026, still identical on 25 October 2026.