patients may now be forced to make a detour of up to 30 km due to sharing of medical transport

It will still be possible to refuse shared transport, but this year it will be necessary to advance the costs. From 2025, you will have to pay a penalty, the amount of which has not yet been fixed.

Patients may now be forced to make a detour of up to 30 kilometers in their ambulance or taxi to or from the hospital due to the future sharing of medical transport, according to the draft decree, which will be published in the coming days and consulted by franceinfo Friday May 3.

Taxis and ambulances will have to be shared, after a vote by Parliament last fall. This measure was passed to allow Social Security to make savings. The reimbursement of medical transport cost 5.7 billion euros in 2022, a sharp increase.

What the decree provides

According to the draft decree consulted by franceinfo, you will now have to share your ambulance or health taxi with other patients, with a detour of ten kilometers possible per passenger, and within the limit of a total detour of 30 kilometers. For patients who regularly go to hospital, extending the return journey after dialysis or a chemotherapy session is frankly not a good idea, judges Bruno Lamothe, of the kidney patients’ association, Renaloo.

“The patient may have nausea, vomiting… And this person will be forced to detour up to 30 km even though they are in a vulnerable situation”

Bruno Lamothe, from the Renaloo association

at franceinfo

The association would prefer the decree to count travel time rather than distance: “A person who lives in Grau-du-Roi, in the Gard, 30 km from Montpellier, will take 44 minutes in winter, but 3h45 in the middle of summer, due to traffic jams to go to the beaches..”, points out Bruno Lamothe.

End of barrier gestures and advance of costs

As for the wait for the departure of the ambulance or taxi, the decree says that for patients it must be a “reasonable waiting time“.”What is a ‘reasonable’ deadline?asks Catherine Simonin, of the League against Cancer and France Assos santé. We can see that in the emergency room, we can sometimes wait five hours. These are very vague, very vague provisions..”

Furthermore, in the ambulance or in the taxi, they will not be obliged to wear masks and no barrier gestures are provided for by this decree. “Without barrier measures, that is to say mandatory mask and hand washing before entering transport, there is obviously a risk of contamination of the most fragile and vulnerable people who may have counterparties behind and losses. chances on their health“, denounces Catherine Simonin.

To obtain reimbursed individual transportation, the doctor must specify on the prescription that the patient’s condition is incompatible with shared transportation. Otherwise, it will still be possible to refuse shared transport, but it will be necessary, for this year, to advance the costs. “For a person on dialysis, for example, the average is 13,000 euros in costs per year, up to 20,000 euros. These people will not be able to advance the costs“, finally notes Bruno Lamothe. From 2025, you will even have to pay a penalty, the amount of which is not yet fixed.