Health Insurance is divided into three main schemes :
- General scheme, which covers employees in the industry, business and service sectors, as well as some categories of workers considered as employees. Today, it is the cornerstone of social protection in France since it protects 85 % of the French population.
- Agricultural scheme (Mutualité sociale agricole / MSA), which covers farmers and farm employees.
- Social scheme for independent professionals (Régime social des indépendants / RSI), which covers craftspeople, retailers, manufacturers and independent professions.
The system also includes a number of other special schemes: for sailors and registered sailors, mines, SNCF, RATP, EDF-GDF, Banque de France, Assemblée nationale, Sénat, clerks and solicitor's employees, ministers of religion, and so on.
