Patients have not dragged their anger either. In a statement issued on Wednesday, July 16, the main French Federation of Patient Associations, France Assos Santé, shared his “concern” regarding the public finance recovery plan presented Tuesday by Prime Minister François Bayrou.
And for a good reason: to save no less than 5 billion euros in the field of society and health, the Head of Government announced the duplication, since 2026, of medical franchise roofs and holdings of flat rates at 100 euros against 50 euros currently. As a reminder, these are discreetly deducted sums by health insurance in medicines, medical and paramedical consultations, radiology exams, medical biology analysis, as well as health transport trips.
According to the Head of Government, there is a question of “empowering patients” about the cost of health, abundant in the sense of the Confederation of small and medium enterprises (CPME), which he called last week to “get out of illusion at all.”
Doctors, “main artisans” of medicines with excess prescription
But in matters of medical consumption or, sometimes, the use of unreasonable drugs, France Assos Health points to the role of prescribers. “Franchises only apply to prescribed care. Why is it not a matter of the responsibility of doctors?” He asks the association for whom “charging only patients is not only unfair, but also ineffective.”
Responsibility measures should be based, according to the Federation, “a better regulation of the actors, including prescription doctors, the main artisans of the French special characteristic of excessive prescription and misuse, sources of risk of sick and unnecessary diseases and environmental impact.”
Medical franchises have already doubled in 2024
Created in 2008 under the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy with the AIM, already at that time, to absorb the hole of safety, medical franchises have already doubled in 2024, causing the anger of patient associations.
Since March 31, 2024, in fact, one euro has deduced from the reimbursements of medications and paramedical consultations (compared to 0.50 euros before), 2 euros for exams and analysis of medical biology (instead of 1 euro) and 4 euros in health trips (instead of 2 euros).
According to a similar mechanism, flat rates participations are also cunning for the safety of consultation refunds with a general doctor or specialist. These sums have also doubled since May 15, 2024, from 1 to 2 euros. In total, these increases had to bring 800 million euros to Social Security throughout the year.
With the exception of drugs, a daily roof is applied beyond which health insurance is applied, it can no longer withdraw the deductibles from reimbursements: it reaches 4 euros for consultations with a physiotherapist or a nurse, and 8 euros for appointments with a doctor, exams and analysis of medical biology, as well as health transport.
What is more, the government had already considered, in 2024, also duplicate the annual ceilings of medical franchises and participations of flat rates, each of each to 50 euros per calendar year. The government team in its place at that time had finally surrendered in pressures, abandoning the duplication of franchise roofs and participations of flat rates. By relaunching this project, François Bayrou, therefore, loudly pica to the users of the health system, in particular patients with long -term affection (ALD).
Source: BFM TV
