Relaunched in November 2023, nine months after the failure of a first attempt, the conventional negotiations, i.e. these discussions between the unions of private doctors and Health Insurance supposed to fix, for five years, the contract binding the two parties ( the “medical convention”), should experience a new highlight with the multilateral meeting on January 25.
The third of this type, after those of November 15 and December 21, 2023, to which were added eight thematic meetings (on prevention, “relevance” and the ” quality of care “, etc.). These “focuses” restart on January 10, with the parties involved hoping to reach an agreement before spring.
At this stage, in terms of pricing, Health Insurance has proposed to private practitioners to financially revalue the role of treating doctors: on December 21, it put forward a budget of 100 million euros annually for this purpose.. A general practitioner today receives, on average, 16,000 euros per year under the “treating doctor package” (around 10% of its turnover), which is added to the remuneration for each consultation, according to Health Insurance figures.
Minister weakened
But nothing has yet been revealed about the revaluation of the consultations themselves, a point eagerly awaited by the 110,000 liberals (generalists and specialists) concerned by these discussions. The previous medical agreement, negotiated in 2016 and entered into force in 2017, had set the so-called “reference” consultation at 25 euros with general practitioners. They have been demanding for months that it be aligned with a “floor” of 30 euros – or even more – to at least take inflation into account. An increase of 1.50 euros came into force on 1er November 2023, for all liberals, under an “arbitration regulation” adopted for lack of agreement.
These negotiations are resuming in an uncertain context, while rumors of a reshuffle are rife and the Minister of Health, Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, appointed interim after the resignation of Aurélien Rousseau in December, is weakened politically by an affair of undeclared gifts received from the Urgo laboratory as part of her previous duties as a pharmacist. A case in which she is the subject of a preliminary investigation.