In reply to RX-78:
> Trying to think back to when we had to use them. I think they also wanted to see our travel insurance before any treatment. But not sure.
I'd be surprised, but one thing to remember is that you might have been taken to a private clinic, or taken in a private ambulance (especially if you were injured skiing) which would be a lot more expensive and a lot more diligent about checking ability to pay (or be covered via a Mutuelle if you're a resident).
We've lived in France for over 7 years now, but just a few weeks after moving here my wife slipped on the stairs (sounds dodgy I know) and broke her ankle. I drove her to A&E at Gap hospital thinking Friday night A&E would be carnage. However we were seen straight away, she was x-rayed and kept in overnight to be operated on in the morning. She was given a private room, and since I'd driven an hour through a raging snowstorm to get there, they gave me another bed for the night in the same room.
We hadn't got round to registering on the French system, and so were simply 'tourists' and obviously didn't have travel insurance as we were now permanently resident in France.
They took down our contact details but nothing else was needed up front. All went well and she was discharged the next day with nothing to pay. A few weeks later we received an invoice - I forget how much but its was pretty low, 200-300€ maximum and in the end we were able to claim it back through EHIC (quicker than waiting to get a French Carte Vitale which ultimately took a year!).
All in all a very good first impression of what has turned out to be a very good health service (despite being a bit maddening with all the form filling etc).