You might hear about the franchise médicale from time to time when the French government weighs increasing it to finance the social security system. The franchise médicale is applied to prescriptions, visits to 'paramedical' professionals (including appointments with nurses, physiotherapists and masseurs, speech therapists and eye specialists), and non-emergency medical transport. It is not applied to any medicine given out during a hospitalisation or emergency transport, neither does it apply to normal doctor appointments.
CVS told KQED that "Our understanding is that the COVID-19 vaccine is covered by most insurance plans at no cost for eligible patients," but that patients should still "check with their insurer to determine whether the updated COVID-19 vaccine is covered by their individual health plan." Blue Shield and United Healthcare did not respond to KQED's request for confirmation that they will indeed cover the shots for eligible patients before the CDC's recommendation is released.