According to the oppositions, the account is not there with regard to the ambition displayed by the President of the Republic at the beginning of his mandate. Emmanuel Macron had promised a major law on dependency, old age with the creation of a fifth branch, a fifth risk of Social Security alongside the four others – which are retirement, illness, family, or even work accident. This fifth branch was indeed created last year. But in reality, it is an empty shell, without much means. Hence the disappointment on the left, as on the right, but also of several associations.
The most important measure is the introduction of a national “floor price” of 22 euros per hour to better remunerate home helpers, carers who work with the elderly. This floor price is in fact intended to erase the disparities between the departments. In other words, the government promises that the departments will be helped, that it will compensate 100% to reach this base rate of 22 euros per hour. By paying staff better, the profession is made more attractive and it is easier to recruit. The objective, in turn, is to keep elderly dependent people at home as long as possible and prevent them from going to nursing homes and specialized structures. The government promises that the devices will cost up to 1.3 billion euros per year in 2025.
With the aging of the population, the financing needs are very important. According to a report on “old age” from March 2019, the over 75s will represent nearly 15% of the French population in 2040, it was 6% in 1990. Ten billion euros per year would be needed to properly take care of dependency.
This year, above all, a large part of Social Security spending is still absorbed by the Covid-19, to pay for drugs, the third dose of vaccines, but also for tests, reimbursed on medical prescription. In total, this Social Security budget, therefore the last of this five-year term, anticipates a deficit of more than 21 billion euros. It will be debated in the Senate in early November.