Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Wednesday deemed the merger project between the Vitale card and the identity card a “priority”, which he had launched when he was Minister of Public Accounts to fight against social fraud, but which gave rise to criticism. reluctance in particular at the Ministry of the Interior.
A “project” now “priority”
“We cannot say that there was enthusiasm from all the ministries at the time,” quipped Mr. Attal, questioned during a press conference on the fight against tax and social fraud in Bercy with the current Minister of Public Accounts, Thomas Cazenave. “Now that I am head of government, it goes without saying that all the ministries are very mobilized on this issue, and therefore we will move forward on this subject,” he added. “I don’t believe that this project was a priority” under the previous government, “but now it is,” he also declared.
The Ministry of the Interior, but also the National Health Insurance Fund, had expressed reluctance about this project during internal debates before Mr. Attal’s decision to launch this project, in the spring of 2023. The Cnam had estimated, in a letter addressed to the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (Igas) and the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF), that the measure would only have a minimal effect in the fight against fraud. “The amounts of fraud likely to be linked to fraudulent use of the Vitale card are minimal,” writes the general director of Cnam, Thomas Fatôme, in this letter.
Towards dematerialization
The Igas and the IGF, for their part, took a more positive view, considering in particular that the merger could resolve “recurring difficulties” regarding the attachment of minor children, while recommending a detailed study of the technical feasibility and desirability of the project. . The Vitale card/identity card merger would make it possible to combat identity fraud, when one person uses another’s Vitale card to obtain reimbursement for care.
On Wednesday, Gabriel Attal clarified that the merger project could join the “dematerialization” project of the identity card launched by the Ministry of the Interior. “I am very open to making this merger project compatible with dematerialization,” he said.