Certain types of medical care must be provided to you free of charge, but you may have to pay for others.
Free medical care
You should receive the same type of free medical care in prison as you would receive in the general community. According to French law, you are affiliated to the general health insurance scheme and you are also exempted from paying in advance any health costs. The State will pay for 100% of the health expenses that are covered by the health insurance. This means that you are entitled to the following medical care free of charge:
- all emergency medical care (including emergency dental care), whether the treatment takes place at a medical institution within or away from the prison
- all primary medical care provided by a prison doctor, including dental care (general treatment by a prison doctor where specialist treatment is not needed)
- secondary medical care provided by a prison doctor, or if necessary, a doctor outside the prison (specialist treatment such as a gynecologist, surgeon, psychiatric treatment etc.)
- all the medication prescribed by a prison doctor
You are also entitled to basic medical devices (such as prosthetics, a wheelchair, crutches, glasses, hearing aid,etc.) which satisfy your minimum needs if required.
exception Some medical services are not covered by the French health insurance, for example optical and dental prosthesis costs. But according to French law, if you don’t have enough money to cover these expenses, the prison administration can pay it for you.
Choice of paid treatment
The State does not have a duty to pay for all the types of medical care you may need. Therefore, the State is not obliged to pay for treatment that you wish to have which is medically unnecessary. It will only pay for the cheapest treatment and medicines that are prescribed by a doctor and are effective for your condition.
example If the doctor says that there are 3 different types of pills you could take and they are equally effective, the prison administration will provide the cheapest ones.
How to complain
If you believe that the medical care provided to you or a fellow inmate was insufficient or inappropriate, you can submit a complaint to the General Inspection of Social Affairs (Inspection Générale des Affaires Sociales). This service ensures that the measures necessary to maintain the health of prisoners are respected. According to the law you are allowed to write to the General Inspection of Social Affairs and report any rule violation related to health care and sanitary measures.