The health check compulsory for seniors?
What is the purpose of the health check and how is it carried out?
Requiring no age limit, the health check is intended for retirees for one year as well as their husband or wife aged 58 and over. Totally free (for the insured), this medical examination helps you maintain your health capital. This makes it possible to detect any latent conditions or pathologies, especially in older people.
A health check-up with the general practitioner
At the general practitioner, various examinations are carried out once a year such as:
Biometric assessment: measurement of height, weight and BMI (body mass index)
The memory test
Hearing acuity
Breath measurement to detect problems related to asthma, smoking, etc.
At the dentist
The oral check-up makes it possible to detect periodontitis which can cause the imbalance of diabetes and increase the risks of inflammation and heart disease. This assessment is to be carried out once a year and is mandatory during the period of menopause because of hormonal changes in the body. Generally lasting about thirty minutes, it includes:
A consultation with the dental surgeon
A consultation with the dietician if you wish to carry out a nutritional assessment
A private interview to receive some personalized advice.
L’ORL
The hearing assessment at the ENT department makes it possible to measure the hearing of the elderly, but also to offer a hearing aid. This is done every 2 years, especially in men aged 65 or over and whose hearing loss is more advanced than in women.
Screening for hearing loss is done using an audiometer. This makes it possible to determine the medical treatment, such as the prescription of vasodilator drugs, or a surgical intervention in the event of significant deafness such as surgery of the eardrum.
The cardiologist
After the age of 50, a cardiovascular check-up is essential, even mandatory. As we age, the risk of hypertension can arise at any time, and artery disease often progresses silently. The assessment is done every 2 years and the results of the electrical activity of the heart are given by an electrocardiogram. An ultrasound is also performed to analyze the contractions of the heart according to the various risk factors such as stress, overweight or smoking.
The ophthalmologist
The visual assessment carried out by the ophthalmologist makes it possible to establish an optical correction, to detect the various diseases of the eye and is essential from the age of 50. Like diseases of the arteries, diseases of the eye develop silently such as:
Glaucoma (destruction of the optic nerve) detected from the age of 50
Cataract (decline in visual acuity) which appears from the age of 60.
By carrying out a visual check-up in time, you can benefit from drug or laser treatment. Note that a visit to the ophthalmologist must be made every year from the age of 60.
The radiologist
Carrying out a check-up with the radiologist makes it possible to detect a problem in the thorax and lung diseases. A bone radiology in the elderly also makes it possible to take stock of all the bones and the various joints. This medical examination also makes it possible to detect:
A tumor
Osteoarthritis, a chronic condition of the joints
The accumulation of fluid in the joints.
The dermatologist
A check-up with a dermatologist is recommended for people who are subject to frequent exposure to the sun. This examination can detect different types of lesions such as:
An epidermal cyst
Poor healing also called a keloid scar requiring surgery
A squamous cell: a common carcinoma in the elderly following too long exposure to the sun.
The gynecologist
A check-up with the gynecologist makes it possible to detect a possible cancer of the cervix in women aged 50 to 74 years. Cancer risks increase in postmenopausal women.
How to benefit from a free health check?
The health examination is free for each senior affiliated or not to health insurance . All you have to do is contact the CPAM (Caisse Primaire d’Assurance Maladie ) and make an appointment. A form will be sent to you before taking the medical examination as well as a summons mentioning the precise date, time and place where the examination will take place.
The form sent by Health Insurance is a questionnaire to be completed alone and given to the doctor on the day of the consultation. Unlike the health check-up, the questionnaire will serve as a basis for the attending physician who, depending on your answers and the results of the last consultations (accompanying the document), will decide on the clinical and additional examination to be carried out.
The results of the examinations are then sent by post after a fortnight. The doctor who carried out the assessment will also receive a copy of the results.
Do I have to fill out the health questionnaire before subscribing to mutual insurance?
The Code de la Mutualité does not authorize health insurers to use the health questionnaire. However, it can be beneficial for people over 50. Complementary health insurance actually uses it to offer the best formula to their new members.
Completing the form is, of course, not mandatory. Minimizing certain health concerns can nevertheless cost you dearly, especially if you wish to take out a health insurance contract . Although mutual health insurance does not require any medical examination from members, except for specific guarantees, the termination of the contract may occur in the event of a false declaration.
