To say that it was met with skepticism by the profession would be an understatement. This Monday the arbitration rules established by the senior official Annick Morel were announced, in order to end the dispute between health insurance and medical unions.
The latter plans to increase the price of a consultation with a general practitioner to 26.50 euros, compared to the current 25.
Problem, in the face of galloping inflation and to make a profession abandoned by students more attractive, doctors asked for a minimum of 30 euros per consultation, when they did not want their price to double, to 50 euros.
Negotiations that had failed
“It’s a total insult. It doesn’t even reach inflation,” Jean-Paul Hamon, general practitioner and honorary president of the French medical federation, lashes out on our antenna.
In February, negotiations between the health insurance and liberal doctors, with the aim of drafting a new medical convention, had failed. Therefore, an arbitrator, in the person of Annick Morel, had been appointed to set the new rates.
The latter has chosen to resume the proposal for a general increase promoted by health insurance, but which has already been rejected by the profession. The Ministry of Health should, in all probability, accept these new rates.
“I don’t care, I have my career behind me. But what I think is that we will never have successors”, fulminates Jean-Paul Hamon.
A tenth year of studies “without any incentive”
The increase in the price of the consultation requested by certain general practitioners pursues two objectives. First, to deal with inflation, while the conditions for receiving patients are improved, with the hiring of a medical secretary.
Second, to make the profession more attractive to the younger generation, while the problem of medical deserts continues to worsen. For Jean-Paul Hamon, the low rate increase announced “will aggravate desertification.”
Especially since the government has decided to vote for a tenth year for general medicine students, which will take place in the medical deserts, “without any kind of update, without any incentive”, continues the general practitioner.
To make its voice heard, the profession is beginning to think about a new means of pressure, Jérôme Marty, a general practitioner and president of the French Union for Free Medicine, detailed on BFMTV this Monday.
“I am leading the collective protest that we launched two months ago. We have 1,500 disagreement intentions. Our goal is to reach 10,000, 15,000 doctors, and go see the politicians to say: ‘Here we have 15,000 doctors who are ready to take the plunge. What are you doing for them?’” he explains.
The threat of sector 3
As a reminder, in France, when a doctor is hired with (sector 2) or without (sector 1) additional fees, the patient receives the same amount from social security, up to 70% of the conventional fee. .
But when the doctor is not under contract, and therefore operates in sector 3, he is free to freely set his prices. Consequently, social security reimburses patients only minimally. Without adequate mutual insurance, the remainder to be paid by sufferers can be substantial.
“If we cannot build a convention that can save medicine, then we will make the famous sector 3. And it is health insurance that will be in charge of reimbursing its patients or not”, threatens Jérôme Marty.
Statement shared by Jean-Paul Hamon: “Frankly, this fifty euro is an additional insult. And I hope that young doctors will launch protest movements.”
But before taking action, the profession is waiting for the possible opening of new discussions. “The positive point is that Ms. Annick Morel said that she had built her arbitration rules with the desire to relaunch conventional negotiations as quickly as possible”, hopes Jérôme Marty.
Source: BFM TV
