“From 2024, the deficit should worsen again”, warns the Court of Auditors

A call for “vigorous reforms”, especially in health spending. Despite the end of the Covid-19 epidemic and the pension reform, Social Security will continue to accumulate debts in the future, warns the Court of Auditors in a report published on Wednesday May 24.

Social Security, after an abysmal deficit of almost 40 billion euros in 2020, should reduce its losses to around 8 billion in 2023. Nevertheless, the “hole” has not finished widening.

“From 2024, the deficit should worsen again, driven by the deterioration of the balances of the old-age branch, which the pension reform should not make it possible to restore quickly.”

The Court of Auditors

in his report

“If we don’t act, we won’t have room to invest” in education, climate transition or even health, alerted the president of the Court of Auditors Pierre Moscovici during a press conference.

Growth should be good

Over the next three years alone, more than 36 billion in additional debt is expected. This level of debt could rise if the assumptions “optimists” of the government in terms of growth and jobs do not materialize. The risk of slippage is all the more likely as health spending will have to grow less quickly than inflation this year and next year – something that has never happened in the recent past.

The financial magistrates therefore affirm that “more vigorous reforms [sont] indispensable” and recall their recent proposals targeting certain sectors such as medical imaging and radiotherapy. They also suggest reviewing the organization of the Samu, with the “reconciliation” existing call centers in each department and the increased use of ambulances without doctors. Fraud on social benefits is also in the sights of the Court.