Between 60 and 65, French National Health Insurance (Assurance Maladie) offers Mon bilan prévention, France’s national prevention check-up program: a 30- to 45-minute consultation with a health professional, fully covered (100%), with no upfront payment. Without any blood draw, you review screening, vaccines, heart, bones and lifestyle, and then write a Personalized Prevention Plan together.
What is the prevention check-up for ages 60-65?
The prevention check-up at 60 is the third of the four prevention appointments created by French National Health Insurance at key ages (18-25, 45-50, 60-65 and 70-75 inclusive). You can have it once between 60 and 65 inclusive. It is fully covered (100%), with no upfront payment and no extra charges of any kind.
We carry it out in three steps, those of the official program:
- Identifying risks: before the appointment, you fill in the self-assessment questionnaire for ages 60-65 (online in Mon espace santé, France’s personal digital health record, or as a PDF), which we go through together.
- Setting priorities: together, we choose one or two topics to act on in the coming months, not ten.
- The Personalized Prevention Plan (PPP): written together, given to you, and sent to your regular doctor (médecin traitant) unless you object.
The appointment can be carried out by a doctor, nurse, pharmacist or midwife. Physiotherapists are expected to join “from October 2026,” according to the Centre-Val de Loire regional health agency (ARS). To schedule it, see how to book a prevention check-up; for the overall framework, see the prevention check-up explained.
What changes at 60?
Nothing tips over on your 60th birthday. What changes is the convergence of the cumulative effect of forty years of lifestyle habits, bodily changes that have become noticeable, and a major transition: retirement.
In terms of the body:
- muscle mass and strength that decline if you don’t maintain them, with a direct effect on balance;
- silent bone fragility, especially in women after menopause;
- declining hearing and vision (age-related hearing loss, presbyopia, early cataracts), which you compensate for without realizing it;
- cardiovascular risk in which age now weighs heavily, even with normal blood pressure and cholesterol;
- cancer screenings that continue (colon, breast) while another ends (cervical, at 65).
In terms of life, retirement changes your routine, your social network, sometimes your income and your sense of purpose. Hence an appointment placed at 60-65: to act before the difficulties of old age. The next step, the prevention check-up at ages 70-75, focuses more on falls, undernutrition and memory.
What blood tests at 60?
The prevention check-up at 60 does not include a blood draw: it is a consultation. There is no “standard blood panel for 60-year-olds”: tests are prescribed individually by your regular doctor according to your risk factors, medical history and treatments.
What we usually look at at this age:
- fasting blood glucose in adults over 45 with at least one risk factor for type 2 diabetes (recommendation of the French National Authority for Health, HAS);
- a lipid panel (total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides) if you haven’t had a recent one, to calculate cardiovascular risk;
- kidney function and a complete blood count depending on current treatments and symptoms.
The table below summarizes the three approaches that are often confused.
| Approach | What it is | Blood draw? | Duration | Cost to you |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon bilan prévention, ages 60-65 | Prevention consultation with a local professional, self-assessment questionnaire then personalized plan | No (referral possible) | 30 to 45 min | Fully covered (100%), with no upfront payment |
| Preventive health examination (health examination center) | Examination at a French National Health Insurance center with, depending on your profile, blood and urine tests, hearing and cardiorespiratory tests, consultation | Yes, depending on your profile, fasting | About 2 hours | Fully covered (100%), with no upfront payment |
| Blood test prescribed by your regular doctor | Tests targeted at your risk factors | Yes | A few minutes at the laboratory | Reimbursed under the usual rules |
For an examination with lab tests, see free health check: the preventive health examination; the two programs can be combined.
Which cancer screenings should continue between 60 and 65?
At 60-65, organized screening for colorectal and breast cancer continues, and cervical cancer screening comes to an end. The prevention check-up is the time to check that you are up to date.
| Organized screening program | Who | Frequency | Status at 60-65 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Colorectal cancer | Women and men aged 50 to 74 | Immunochemical test every 2 years | Continues |
| Breast cancer | Women aged 50 to 74 | Mammogram every 2 years | Continues |
| Cervical cancer | Women aged 25 to 65 | HPV test every 5 years from 30 to 65 | Last test around 65 |
The colorectal test is the one we most often see forgotten: it is done at home, and the kit is provided by the doctor or pharmacist. For prostate cancer, there is no organized screening program in France; the decision to have a PSA test is made case by case, after information about its benefits and limitations.
How can I assess my cardiovascular risk at 60?
Cardiovascular risk at 60-65 is estimated with the SCORE2 score, published in 2021 by the European Society of Cardiology for people aged 40-69. It calculates the probability of a cardiovascular event, fatal or not, over the next ten years, based on five data points: age, sex, smoking, systolic blood pressure and non-HDL cholesterol. France is classified as a low-risk region, which is factored into the calculation.
During the check-up, we check that you have a recent blood pressure reading and lipid panel, we talk about smoking again, and we place your risk in context. At this age, age itself pushes the score up: that is why modifiable factors (smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol, physical activity, weight) matter just as much. We explain how the score works and its limitations in 10-year cardiovascular risk and SCORE2.
The score estimates a risk; it does not predict your future. It helps you and your regular doctor decide how intensive prevention should be.
Which vaccines are recommended at 60-65?
At 60-65, the prevention check-up is used to bring your vaccination record up to date: diphtheria-tetanus-polio booster, starting annual flu vaccination at 65, and vaccination against shingles and pneumococcus according to the current French vaccination schedule, published every year by the Ministry of Health.
| Vaccination | Guideline at 60-65 |
|---|---|
| Diphtheria-tetanus-polio (dTP) | Booster scheduled at 65, then at regular intervals |
| Seasonal flu | Recommended every year from age 65, earlier if you have a chronic disease |
| Shingles | Recommended from a certain age, with a recombinant vaccine |
| Pneumococcus | Recommended depending on age and risk factors |
| Whooping cough (pertussis) | Booster discussed for future grandparents (to protect the infant) |
Bring your vaccination record or open the vaccination section of Mon espace santé: this is the quickest part of the check-up to sort out.
Osteoporosis, hearing, vision, physical activity: the other topics of the check-up
The prevention check-up at 60 also covers topics people almost never seek care for on their own: bones, ears, eyes, movement, retirement. What they have in common: if you wait for symptoms, part of the damage is already done.
Osteoporosis: who should think about it?
Osteoporosis is a fragility of the bone that causes no pain until a fracture occurs. We think about it mainly in women after menopause, and in cases of a previous fracture from minor trauma, long-term corticosteroid treatment, early menopause, low body weight, smoking or a family history of hip fracture. In these situations, a bone densitometry scan (measurement of bone density) may be offered; it is reimbursed under certain conditions. Prevention relies on weight-bearing physical activity, adequate calcium and vitamin D intake, and quitting smoking.
Hearing: why not wait
Age-related hearing loss sets in slowly and first makes you lose track of group conversations. In several studies, uncorrected hearing loss is associated with isolation and faster cognitive decline. The check-up is the time to ask the question, refer you for an audiogram, and remind you that hearing aids are available with no out-of-pocket cost under France’s “100% Santé” scheme.
Vision: presbyopia, cataracts, glaucoma
After 60, presbyopia is established, cataracts begin in many people, and glaucoma, which causes no symptoms at first, is detected by measuring eye pressure and examining the optic nerve. We recommend regular eye examinations, at a frequency that depends on your risk factors.
Physical activity: the most worthwhile lever
Physical activity protects the heart, bones, balance, sleep, mood and memory all at once. International guidelines for adults combine regular moderate endurance activity with muscle strengthening at least twice a week, plus balance exercises from age 65. We start from what you already do, including walking, and look for the next step, not the ideal.
Retirement and isolation: why talk about it
Retirement is a health transition, not just an administrative one: it changes the rhythm of your days, your network of relationships, sometimes your sleep and alcohol consumption, and it can reveal isolation that work had masked. The program explicitly lists isolation and aging among its topics. We ask simple questions: who do you talk to during the week, what have you planned to do with your time, who would help you if there were a problem?
What does a Personalized Prevention Plan look like at 60-65?
The Personalized Prevention Plan (PPP) is the document written together at the end of the check-up: one or two goals, what holds you back, concrete actions, resources and follow-up. Here is an illustrative example for a 62-year-old who has just retired.
| Section | Example |
|---|---|
| My priorities | 1. Do the colorectal screening test I have never done. 2. Get back to regular physical activity. |
| What holds me back | Distaste for the test, fear of the result; painful knee, little motivation on my own. |
| Concrete actions | Screening kit picked up this week; 30-minute walk three times a week with a neighbor; sign up for a gentle exercise class in September. |
| Resources and professionals | Pharmacist; regular doctor for the knee and the lipid panel; the town’s sports association. |
| Follow-up arrangements | Phone check-in at 3 months; new consultation at 6 months with the regular doctor; vaccines updated at the next visit. |
The PPP is sent to your regular doctor unless you object, via secure messaging, via Mon espace santé or by you. Sections and other examples in the Personalized Prevention Plan explained.
Key takeaways
- The prevention check-up at 60-65 is a 30- to 45-minute consultation, once within the age bracket, fully covered (100%) by French National Health Insurance, with no upfront payment.
- It is not a blood test: lab tests are still prescribed individually by your regular doctor according to your risk factors.
- Colorectal and breast screening continue; your vaccination record is brought up to date (dTP, flu, shingles, pneumococcus according to the current schedule).
- Osteoporosis, hearing, vision and physical activity are the silent topics to address before symptoms appear.
- You leave with a Personalized Prevention Plan, sent to your regular doctor unless you object.
What Sokrate lets you do
The Sokrate service offers an online preparation questionnaire covering the topics of the check-up (screening, vaccines, heart, lifestyle), so you arrive at your appointment with a structured file. The personalized plan is signed by a doctor, a letter is sent to your regular doctor unless you object, and a coordinating nurse provides follow-up. You can prepare your prevention check-up at 60 now.