“The government is devaluing the consultation of general medicine”, laments the Confederation of French Medical Unions

“The government acts a devaluation of the general medical consultation”, laments Monday April 24 on franceinfo Jean-Luc Duquesnel, president of the general practitioners of the CSMF (Confederation of French Medical Unions) while the consultation with a general practitioner must increase by 1.50 euro in the fall, raising the price consultations at 26.50 euros for general practitioners and 31.50 euros for specialists. This revaluation was announced a little earlier by Annick Morel, the former inspector of Social Affairs appointed mediator by the Minister of Health François Braun to settle the dispute between doctors and Health Insurance. It is deemed insufficient by the Confederation of French Medical Unions, which pleaded for it to “goes to 30 euros in the case of a basic consultation”.

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Jean-Luc Duquesnel recalls that the price of this consultation “is 25 euros since 2017”. He believes that raising the price to 26.50 euros does not take inflation into account, especially since “the measures announced today will not apply until the end of the year”. The president of the general practitioners of the CSMF therefore fears that this measure acts “a devaluation for general practitioners, a profession that no longer attracts young people”. “While we lack treating doctors, we are not going to make people want [aux jeunes de faire ce métier] and things will continue to deteriorate”he dreads.

The CSMF offers “a collective territorial commitment contract”

Annick Morel’s proposal still needs to be validated by the government. It is in any case provisional, in order to give time to the unions of doctors and the Health Insurance to find an agreement for the next five years. Two months ago, treaty negotiations ended in failure. “They wanted to impose an individual contract on us”, explains Jean-Luc Duquesnel. Returning to the negotiating table, he mentioned several “conditions to be met: no individual contract, that the basic consultation takes inflation into account, so 30 euros for all general practitioners and that the envelope dedicated to this negotiation is increased”. Indeed, the president of the general practitioners of the CSMF accuses “the government to increase the envelopes dedicated to health only for the hospital” and not for “outpatient medicine and outpatient care in the city”.

Jean-Luc Duquesnel also has several proposals to make to Health Insurance. He is therefore in favor of “a territorial collective commitment contract”. The general practitioner would commit, for example, “on a territory to take unscheduled care, that the permanence of care works”. He also calls on the authorities and the Health Insurance to “trust” to liberal doctors. “We have shown during the health crisis, in particular with vaccination centers, that health professionals know how to collectively organize themselves in the territories”, he hammers. He estimates that “What is lacking above all in the relationship between liberal doctors and the government is trust”.