Alexandre Chauveau // Photo credit: GARO / Phanie / Phanie via AFP
The debate around State Medical Aid (AME) continues in Parliament. Regularly singled out by the right, the aid which allows foreigners in an irregular situation to be able to obtain treatment was even suppressed for a time by the Senate, during the vote on the new immigration bill. A decision that the National Assembly did not want to follow, thus revising the text of the upper house.
And according to the report by Claude Evin, former Minister of Social Affairs under François Mitterrand, and Patrick Stefanini, former prefect, immigration specialist and State Councilor, the AME would be “generally controlled”, but “deserves to be adapted,” he judges.
Increase in the number of beneficiaries
The document was given to Gérald Darmanin and Aurélien Rousseau, the Minister of Health. But the system is mainly affected by the increase in the number of beneficiaries, he warns. Since 2015, the number of people affected has increased by 47% since 2015, bringing the total to 466,000 beneficiaries in 2023.
“Everything suggests that this will continue in 2024” indicates the report, which nevertheless rules out the idea of a reduction in the healthcare basket, desired by the senators. “The risk is that its legislative work is not followed on the ground by practitioners, because all the doctors have told us that, faithful to the Hippocratic oath, when faced with a patient presenting with pain, the doctor will treat this patient, whatever the treatment modalities”, explains Patrick Stefanini.
Limit fraud
The two authors, on the other hand, formulate a series of proposals to try to limit fraud: the limitation of “rights holders” to only minor children for example, where a beneficiary can today benefit his spouse, or even the obligation to physically present themselves at the primary health insurance fund. Optional today, this obligation could put an end to identity theft.
Finally, State Medical Assistance can currently benefit an individual targeted for deportation. The report recommends putting an end to it.