Carte Vitale

{{Short description|French health insurance card}}

File:CarteVitale2.jpg

The Carte Vitale is the health insurance card of the national health care system in France. It was introduced in 1998 to allow a direct settlement with the medical arm of the social insurance system. The declaration of a primary health insurance company (Caisse primaire d'assurance maladie) substitutes the card usage.[http://www.frenchpropertylinks.com/essential/health-care-france.html Health care in France]. French Property Links. Accessed May 23, 2012.

Since 2008, a second generation of smart cards is being introduced—the "Carte Vitale 2" carries a picture for identification and the smart card has additional functions of an electronic health insurance card to carry electronic documents of the treatment process.[http://www.french-property.com/guides/france/public-services/health/health-card/ Carte Vitale]. Accessed May 23, 2012. The first generation had been a family card carrying the names of all family members, thereby simply declaring they are covered by the French social security health care, while non-residents would need to use the European Health Insurance Card to prove their health insurance status.[http://www.gemalto.com/public_sector/healthcare/france.html Government - Healthcare in France] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120128184840/http://www.gemalto.com/public_sector/healthcare/france.html |date=January 28, 2012 }} Gemalto. Accessed May 23, 2012.