towards a merger of the vital card and the identity card

The vital card and the identity card could soon form one in order to fight against fraud in health benefits. A project well received by policyholders. “I think it’s practical (…) it still has to be secure”, explains a local resident. According to the government, every yeare, a fraud of several million euros would be due to illegal use of the vital card. 30% of the cards are without photo, allowing some to use another person’s.

“Fraud is possible”

Difficult to always verify the identity of the patient concerned. “Fraud is possible, there are many people who come for a third party”, says Yorick Berger, a pharmacist in Paris. The objective is to fight againste illegal medical tourism of foreigners. The idea is going in the right direction for the economist Frédéric Bizarre, but more needs to be done. “The fraud came from a lot of care centers that opened quite recently with behind a ambition to maximize profits”he said. However, the merger of the two cards is not unanimous, especially for data protection.