French MP, François Gernigon, has told The Local why he proposed a new law that would ensure American retirees are charged a minimum fee to access the French healthcare system.

In an interview with The Local on Thursday, French MP François Gernigon explained why he had proposed a new amendment aimed at American retirees in France’s 2026 draft social security financing bill.

Gernigon proposes that “foreign, non-EU-EU/ EEA nationals holding the ‘visitor’ residency status be required to pay a specific contribution, under conditions set by decree, in order to open and maintain rights to healthcare”.

In the explanation of the amendment, Gernigon specifically mentioned American retirees, “who are not engaging in any professional activity.”

But the MP told The Local he wasn’t specifically targeting retirees from across the Atlantic, but it was only fair they paid a contribution.

“We have nothing against Americans. They are our allies. It is a question of fairness,” he said.

“This amendment is not specifically meant to focus on Americans, but rather it is about non-EU nationals who have not paid into the French healthcare system.

“At this moment, we are looking for ways to make budget savings to finance our social security system,” he added.

The MP, a member of the Centrist Horizons party who represents a district in the Maine-et-Loire département, explained how he came up with the idea.

“I was approached by a member of my district who is married to an American, and they explained how American retirees on the long-stay visitor visa had not paid into the French system (via cotisations) and yet they had access to the French healthcare system.

“I also spoke with some Americans who told me that they had been living in France for over 10 years, and yet they had not paid into the system to access French public healthcare. They said they would like to contribute,” Gernigon said.

In the summary of the amendment, Gernigon and his colleagues also noted that, “these individuals [American retirees] can be affiliated with the French public healthcare after three months of stable and regular residence, without any financial contribution, even though they receive their pensions abroad and do not pay income tax in France.

“Some expatriation agencies exploit this loophole by offering foreign retirees relocation packages in France, taking advantage of this free access to our healthcare system, which is entirely financed by French taxpayers.”

Gernigon told The Local he had seen articles on websites, like CNN, encouraging American retirees to come to France.

One CNN article we found praises France’s “top-notch health care system [with] services provided to all residents and largely subsidised by the government”.

“I understand France is an attractive country. We have good wine and good cheese, but paying into the healthcare system is a question of fairness,” Gernigon said.

Is Gernigon’s characterisation accurate?

It is true that France’s ‘visitor’ status requires recipients to enter the country with private health coverage. After three months, it is possible to register for France’s taxpayer-funded public healthcare system.

This means that American retirees, many of whom opt for the visitor status, which requires an agreement to abstain from work, can sign up for French healthcare after just three months.

In theory, American retirees should pay France’s so-called CSM (cotisation subsidiaire maladie) payment to get access to the French health system, because they have not worked in the country and paid social contributions and because the US doesn’t have a reciprocal healthcare deal with France like EU countries and the UK.

However, in reality, many American retirees living in France on the ‘visitor’ status never end up being charged for access to French healthcare.

Basically, American retirees on the visitor visa occupy a grey area.

In a previous interview, Jonathan Hadida, from Hadida Tax Advisors, who offers tax consulting for Americans living in France to be tax compliant in both countries, told The Local, “At the present time, it appears that URSSAF has been treating US pensions/social security akin to the French/European/Swiss pensions.

Hadida said he had called URSSAF and was told by the representative that American pensioners should be paying, but said in his experience, he had not seen many charged for it.

“It may be that French authorities see the pensioner status and they do not charge it, even though a US pensioner, based on the law, would be expected to pay,” Hadida told The Local.

READ MORE: What American retirees in France need to know about CSM healthcare charges

In terms of the practical implications of the amendment, the MP noted that his goal was to “launch a discussion on the topic.”

As far as the details – and possible ramifications for other third-country nationals – Gernigon did not wish to speculate, noting that the amendment would still have to be debated in both chambers of parliament, so changes could come in the future. 

The amendment, at the time of writing, was still being examined by parliament.

On top of that, France’s 2026 Budget is in a precarious place. Just last week, the lower house rejected the ‘Zucman’ wealth tax, even though the left threatened to bring down the government if it was not included in the budget.

It remains possible that the budget will not pass in its current form, or at all.