Scenes on the Seine

NOT A PENNY OUT OF POCKET

If you read our Nouvellettres®, then you might recall that I spent two weeks in the hospital in Paris with Influenza A this past January. Until now, I really didn’t have a clue how much it cost and I never got a bill—not for the ambulance that took me there, nor for the four nights in the ICU, nor for the housekeeping care they provided for the four weeks following the two-week stay!

But, last week, I got an email notice from my “mutuelle” (top-up insurance, “Alptis”) that notifications awaited me on the account, so after logging in, was able to get all of the “Remboursements” (reimbursements) and the various “courrier” (letters) that had been sitting on the account since January 24th to which I’d paid no attention.

Voila! There it was…the hospital stay. The total expenditure was 24,846.05€ (2,258.73€ per day). Of that, French social security paid 19,580.84€ (78.8%) and 5265.21€ (21.2%) was covered by my mutuelle*. I didn’t have one penny of out-of-pocket expense.

I checked with ChatGPT and found that the average cost of a hospital stay in the U.S., not including surgery or the ambulance, but including room and board (standard inpatient bed), nursing care, medications administered during stay, lab tests and imaging (e.g., blood work, X-rays), physician rounds and consultations, supplies and facility fees costs $6,000–$10,000+ per day. Costs can be lower at public hospitals or in rural areas, and higher at private or urban hospitals.

Granted, if you have good health insurance, perhaps you’d be as happy as I was, but one thing for sure…when I was there, I wasn’t worried one moment about the cost or how it was going to be covered or how I was going to deal with the insurance paperwork later. That was a big weight off my shoulders and greatly appreciated it.

*Note: my mutuelle by Alptis is 100% coverage with no deductible. For this year, my premium will cost 2168.52€ including optical and dental care.

One of the reasons to live in France is this. When you come on a “Carte de Séjour Visiteur” (visitor visa), you can apply for the “Carte Vitale” and be covered by French social security. Not only is this a big savings, but you will find the care is better because the healthier you are, the more money the government saves, in contrast to the U.S. where the sicker you are, the most money the health professionals make! I have never understood why Americans fear socialized medicine, especially when using France as a model. They have been brainwashed by the health industry that doesn’t want to give up all that profit is the only thing I can imagine. And now with Republicans/Trump in office, you can bet it’s just going to get more expensive!

IT REALLY FITS US!

“It really fits us!” is what Pennie and Geoff Zuercher told CNN when they traded South Florida for the South of France.

“Nearly 20 years ago, the Zuerchers decided they would retire abroad, and the location they recently settled on—the sun-splashed city of Nice in the South of France—suits them better than the Sunshine State. ‘Nice is what Florida wishes it was,’ said Pennie, 63, listing some of the Mediterranean city’s most attractive attributes: ‘beautiful weather, low humidity…what they call hot here is not hot compared to Florida. And just a different cultural climate, more laid-back.'”

“‘Their social calendar is much busier than it was in the US,’ Pennie said, with something happening at least three evenings a week, including a Friday night expat apéro gathering.”

We helped Pennie and Geoff find their Niçois apartment and they never looked back. Read all about it in this in-depth look at their journey discovering a new life in Nice.

SCENE ON THE SEINE

Friday was Paris’ first real day of summer. Temperatures reached a high of approximately 29°C (84°F), notably warmer than the typical May average high of around 19°C (66°F), indicating an early onset of summer warmth in the city…and everyone took advantage of it. Summer frocks came out of the closet and everyone hit the streets.

Because of my grandson’s 8 p.m. bedtime, we’ve been spending most of our evenings in, but on a day like this, we couldn’t resist taking him in the pram to enjoy the summery evening and have dinner “en terrasse” at Le Louis Philippe. Google gives it a 4.1 rating, to which I agree—it’s not great, but it’s not bad, either, and the atmosphere was perfect.

The Seine was THE place to be, or at least near by—packed with picnickers and strollers. I wasn’t leaving the area without a cup of Berthillon’s Cacao Amer Sorbet, the single most delicious sorbet in the world! If you’ve never tried it, be sure to put this at the top of your Paris not-to-be-missed list.

PSG WINS BIG TIME

Jubilant celebrations swept Paris Saturday night as the Paris Saint-Germain soccer team took the first Champions League title with a 5-0 thrashing of Inter Milan. At Parc des Prince, 48,000 fans roared in ecstasy as the final whistle blew, capping a historic night. Thousands of fans flooded the Champs-Élysées and cross the capital, PSG supporters took to the streets to revel in the triumph, though the night wasn’t without incidents.

I was at home baby-sitting, while my daughter and her friends found themselves in the midst of it all in Pigalle. Getting home at midnight on public or private transport was no easy task for them and ended up walking all the way. At home, we could hear the revelry loud and clear, hoping it wouldn’t wake up the baby!

Meanwhile, Paris police reported nearly 300 arrests amid sporadic clashes near the Champs-Elysées and the stadium, where large screens had broadcast the match live from Munich. While most fans celebrated peacefully, authorities said tensions flared when individuals set off fireworks and engaged in disorderly conduct. AFP reporters witnessed police deploying a water cannon to prevent crowds from advancing toward the Arc de Triomphe.

After hearing the stories, I was glad to be home and not in the midst of the insanity!

MEET THE AUTHORS

Lisa Anselmo Emceed this year’s Meet the Authors event in my place on Saturday in Nice while I spent the weekend with my visiting daughter and grandson in Paris. Founder and Host Ella Dyer didn’t mind at all, considering Lisa’s own talents as a published author and celebrated speaker.

Here are the highlights from the event, thanks to Lisa Anselmo:

Six authors shared their stories to a capacity crowd at Carré d’Or in Nice, Saturday, May 31st. The 11th annual Meet the Authors event hosted by Ella Dyer, featured both Anglophone and French books, and was emcee’d by author Lisa Anselmo [author of My (Part-Time) Paris Life]. Sarah Anderson, charmed the audience with a read from her new book, Aix Marks the Spot, about moving to Provence to live with a grandmother she never met. Whitney Cubbison featured her very funny first novel, Will There Be Wine? about dating in Paris, and gave us a sample of her new book, Will There Be Love? Doctors Suzanne and Jean Roux’s book, Courage and Croissants, tells of their leap of faith to change their lives, encourages others to do the same. Cecile Olivéro’s novel, Abigaïl, was the first French-language novel to be featured at Meet the Authors. Fine French Dogs, by actress Claudette Wells, which she read with mastery, had the audience on the edge of their seats. The event was capped off by a meet-and-greet and book signing.

I was sorry to miss it, but…”c’est la vie. Jusqu’à la prochaine fois…”

A la prochaine…