Matthew est Malade

Matthew is generally a very healthy person. In the three years we lived in Greenville we never even found a family doctor. The 2 or 3 times he was sick enough to warrant a doctor's visit, I would just take him to Doctor's Care (an urgent care doctor's office).

Last night Matthew came home from work and he looked awful! He told me work had been torture, and he could barely move from his desk all day. He spent the rest of the night laying on the couch. This morning he attempted to go to work. About 10:00am I got a call from him saying he was coming home. He had gone to the infirmary at work, and they had given him some medicine, but it didn't help. Matthew's boss gave him the number of a service that would send a doctor to your house. His boss told him that during flu season if you don't already have a family doctor, it can be hard to schedule an appointment. Matthew called the service and about an hour later a doctor showed up at our doorstep.

I am not exactly sure how health care works here in France, but I know for citizens, it is wonderful. For expats, our insurance policy works a little differently than in the US. We have to pay for everything out of pocket, fill out a form, send it to the insurance company, and then we are reimbursed.

After the doctor had checked Matthew's blood pressure, temperature, listened to his breathing, and asked him some questions, he handed us his bill. I was a little nervous to see how much a doctor's home visit would be. 32 euros (a little over $40). That's it! Then he handed Matthew a prescription sheet with 4 prescriptions written on it. So I headed to the pharmacy (for the first time).

I walked into the pharmacy and handed the lady behind the counter the sheet and explained that I only needed the first 3 prescriptions (the 4th was only in case Matthew started throwing up). She went to the back and came back with my prescriptions. She asked if I had a carte de vitalite (like a prescription drug card), I told her "no". Then she asks me if I can pay. At this point I start worrying a little. I know we will be reimbursed, but still, I am wondering how much is about to be deducted from my bank account. She rings up the prescriptions and says "sept blah blah blah blah, s'il vous plait". I knew I had heard the number seven ('sept'). I was expecting around 60-70 euros, but seven? Seven what? Seven hundred???? Surely not. She runs my card, and hands me my receipt. 7.91 euros! Without a drug card, 3 prescriptions were less than 8 euros!!! That is amazing!