Medical costs less well reimbursed. This was announced in a publication in the Official Journal on February 18, 2024. In fact, the fixed contribution – or what the patient must pay – increases from 1 to 2 euros. Concretely, this means that for a consultation at 26.50 euros, the patient will be reimbursed 16.55 euros by Social Security, compared to 18.55 euros previously. During a medical consultation, Health Insurance reimburses a large part of the costs but not all: the patient’s share is made up of the “moderatory fee” – 7.95 euros for a consultation with a general practitioner – as well as a flat rate for certain so-called “heavy” acts which replaces the “moderatory fee” and the famous “flat rate contribution”. The latter is not paid by minors under the age of 18, women more than six months pregnant, as well as people on low incomes (beneficiaries of AME and complementary solidarity health insurance). The increase in this participation will apply from May 15, 2024as indicated The Parisianand this for each consultation or procedure carried out by a doctor, whether general practitioner or specialist, but also for a radiological examination or biological analyses.
Other measures will impact patient wallets
Unfortunately, this measure is far from being the only one taken by the government to try to fill the Social Security deficit, by 8.8 billion euros in 2023 compared to 11.2 billion in 2024 according to the forecasts of the preliminary draft law on financing Social Security, made public in September 2023. During the coming months, other measures will affect the wallets of the French, including participation in the medical franchise . Since March 31, 2024, medications are also less well reimbursed (-50 cents per box), just like ambulance transport, the remainder of which has increased from 2 to 4 euros. A ceiling was put in place to try to protect patients suffering from long-term illnesses, and who therefore increase the number of medical procedures. It is 50 euros per year per patient.
The president of the union of general practitioners MG France, Agnès Giannotti, denounced on RTL a double penalty for patients, particularly the sickest and the most modest, while Emmanuel Macron declared in a press conference on January 16, 2024 that he did not have “the feeling that we are committing a terrible crime”. According to the latest study by the Drees (Directorate of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics), which dates from 2018, the French spend on average 2,750 euros per year on medical expenseswith strong regional and income disparities.