Conventional negotiations between private doctors and Health Insurance are becoming more complicated. While a fifth session – and possibly one of the last – was scheduled for Thursday April 4 in the morning, it was an external decision which undermined this “round”, supposed to result in the key issue of the new tariff. consultations, at a time when medical deserts are progressing.
During the night from Wednesday to Thursday, Avenir-Spé Le Bloc, the main union among specialists, as well as the UFML-S (the French Union for Free Medicine), suspended their participation in the discussions, to mark their disagreement faced with the new hospital rates, unfavorable to clinics, announced on March 26. Thursday morning, the other unions had not followed the movement, but the National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM) immediately announced the cancellation of the session and its postponement to a later date, possibly April 18 .
Behind this coup, the announcement made a few days earlier by the Ministry of Health of an increase in hospital rates of 4.3% in the public and non-profit sector, but only of 0.3% in the private for-profit sector. A differentiated treatment which ignited the powder: the federation of private hospitalization, which represents 1,030 establishments, where 40,000 private doctors practice, called for a total strike from June 3.
Threat to small establishments
“This is a full-blown attack on liberals, particularly specialists, says Patrick Gasser, president of Avenir-Spé Le Bloc. Clinics are our working tool. This price difference is serious, it means that a large proportion of small establishments, already in difficulty, will disappear. » The gastroenterologist, who calls for all activity to cease on June 3, is also responsible for “big difficulties” in these conventional negotiations: “ Investment in technical acts is not there “, he judges, calling on the government to “ review your copy “.
” This decision [tarifaire] will threaten the existence of hundreds of establishments, agrees Jérome Marty, of the UFML-S. How can we continue to discuss in these conditions? It is the government which decides to undermine these negotiations, although they are eagerly awaited. »
After an initial failure in the winter of 2023, these negotiations, reopened by the government almost six months ago, were entering their home stretch. The revaluation of the basic consultation to 30 euros – against 26.50 euros today – was put on the table by the CNAM, during a previous session, as well as collective “compensations” requested from doctors, on access to care or the relevance of actions. There was also talk of strengthening the “attending doctor” package. Or an increase in the long consultation for patients over 80 years old.
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