an agreement about to be validated

After almost a year and a half of long negotiation, the agreement plans to move the consultation with a general practitioner from 26.50 euros currently to 30 euros next December.

An agreement is about to be validated between Health Insurance and doctors’ unions to increase the prices of consultations from the end of the year, according to information from franceinfo on Friday May 31.

The Union of Liberal Doctors (SML), a union of specialists, gave its agreement on Friday evening, which is numerically sufficient to validate the agreement proposed by Health Insurance. The new convention has already garnered the support of the CSMF (Confederation of French Medical Unions) for specialists, and of MG France and the FMF (Federation of French Doctors) for general practitioners. Together, these four organizations weigh more than 30% of the votes in professional elections in the two colleges, generalists and specialists, the minimum threshold required for the text to come into force.

After almost a year and a half of long negotiation, the agreement therefore plans to move the consultation with a general practitioner from 26.50 euros currently to 30 euros next December. For a long consultation, the price will be 60 euros. The appointment with a specialist will cost 30 to 60 euros depending on whether it is a psychiatrist, a gynecologist or even a pediatrician.

A 30 euro consultation with a general practitioner will make little difference to patients, with Social Security continuing to reimburse the consultation up to 70% and mutual insurance companies up to 30%.

If the increase in prices will cost Health Insurance more than a billion and a half euros, there should be no increases in social security contributions in sight for the French. Doctors are asked, in exchange for their increase, to make savings, such as prescribing less sick leave or unnecessary biological procedures.

As for mutual societies, the question is whether they will pass on the cost, 300 million euros in total, by increasing their contribution rates next year.

The official signing of the agreement is scheduled for Tuesday June 4 at the headquarters of the National Health Insurance Fund in Paris.