the former Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn regrets that this device, although “pragmatic and intelligent”, serves to “brush an electorate in the right direction”

Eight former Ministers of Health, including Agnès Buzyn, signed a column in which they are concerned about the recent declarations of Bruno Retailleau who intends to transform or even eliminate State Medical Aid.

Agnès Buzyn, former Minister of Solidarity and Health, regrets Friday September 27 on franceinfo that Emergency Medical Aid (AME) is used “permanently to brush the electorate in the right direction” while “It’s a device intelligently designed to protect people’s health and ensure that it doesn’t cost us too much.” With seven other former ministers of Health, she signed a column in the newspaper on Thursday The World to alert on the “unacceptable health, human, social and economic consequences” what the removal of the AME would have.

The new Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, wants to drastically reduce the rights to the AME which facilitates access to care for people in an irregular situation. “We regret that the politicization of the debate is based on a public health issue and a pragmatic and intelligent system,” declares Agnès Buzyn.

“All the reports showed that this was not an incitement to irregular immigration.”

Agnès Buzyn, former Minister of Health

on franceinfo

“Half of irregular migrants do not use it, recalls the former minister. Second, it has been shown that if it were removed, care would actually cost much more. And thirdly, it endangers the population.”she says. The epidemiological risk is often highlighted by defenders of the AME. But not only: “If you remove state medical aid, people can no longer seek treatment in the city” and they will pass “by emergency” Who “today don’t need to be clogged“, she explains.

Another argument, the costs that the removal of the AME could generate: “People are forced to wait until they get really bad. A lot of pathologies can be treated in a simple and inexpensive way in advance. If you wait until people’s state of health worsens, they are hospitalized and that costs much more for Social Security”, explains Agnès Buzyn. “It will considerably increase the cost for the French”she adds.

“It’s a device intelligently designed to protect people’s health and ensure that it doesn’t cost us too much”says the former Minister of Health. The signatories of the forum are not opposed to revamping the system: “Why not reform at the margins and make things better.”. The Evin-Stefanini report proposes withdrawing access to the AME for people affected by an Obligation to leave French territory (OQTF) measure: “Why not. We have to look in practice. If these people do not have potentially contagious infectious diseases”she explains.