The decree on the doubling of the medical deductible – the amount that remains the responsibility of the patient – from 50 cents to one euro for each box of medicines, is published on Saturday in the Official Gazette and will come into force on March 31.
Given the deterioration of Social Security accounts, the Government announced in January its intention to make insured people pay a little more for their healthcare consumption, increasing the unreimbursed portion.
The exemption for medical transport also doubles from 2 to 4 euros, again as of March 31, according to the Official Gazette. The “flat-rate quote” for medical consultations and procedures (with the exception of those carried out during hospitalization), as well as for medical biology examinations and analyses, is also doubled to 2 euros. This measure comes into force from Sunday, according to another decree published on Saturday in the DO
The annual ceilings remain at 50 euros
In order not to penalize people with greater care needs, the Government maintains each of the two annual maximum limits at 50 euros (one for deductibles and the other for fixed contributions). The deductibles and flat-rate reimbursements do not apply “to minors, to women benefiting from maternity insurance” and “to beneficiaries of complementary solidarity health insurance”, who have particularly modest incomes.
Patient associations harshly criticized these increases, fearing in particular their effects on the most precarious. “Making sick people pay double is not the way to hold people accountable. We make them feel guilty,” Gérard Raymond, president of France Assos Santé, told AFP in January. According to government estimates communicated in autumn, during debates on the Health budget for 2024, the measure should allow savings of 800 million euros for Social Security funds.
Source: BFM TV
