Wheelchairs will be fully reimbursed by the end of the year, in accordance with Emmanuel Macron’s promise. Partial support has “very deleterious consequences on the state of health of the person”, recalls Malika Boubekeur, Friday on franceinfo.
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“We have the feeling of finally being understood and heard”, rejoiced Friday April 12 Malika Boubekeur, national advisor to the APF France handicap in charge of the issue of chairs. After some procrastination by the government, wheelchairs will be fully reimbursed by the end of the year, the Minister in charge of People with Disabilities, Fadila Khattabi, promised on Friday. Emmanuel Macron’s promise will therefore be kept. A million French people today need a manual or electric wheelchair to get around.
Malika Boubekeur welcomed the government’s commitment: “We really felt that Ms. Vautrin and Ms. Khattabi were very, very strongly committed to the subject”, she said. Catherine Vautrin, the Minister of Labor, Health and Solidarity, announced an addition of 300 million euros to an initial envelope “still kept secret”regrets Malika Boubekeur.
Obtain zero remaining charges
She has “a great hope” to see the provision of the sales limit price “deleted”. According to her, this excluded “almost all of our members’ chairs are covered by Health Insurance”. Malika Boubekeur says she will follow “with great vigilance” work with the administration to achieve “full coverage of all models of wheelchairs by Health Insurance”.
A wheelchair costs between 8,000 euros for a manual to 50,000 euros for electric versions. Prices may vary depending on configurations, additions and options. For a manual chair costing 8,000 euros, only 580 euros are covered by Health Insurance. The objective is to obtain zero out-of-pocket costs. It is “absolutely necessary”because “for the user, it is an obstacle course to try to complete the rest of the financing”, she explains. “Often he doesn’t follow through” And “takes an armchair by default”she laments. “This has very deleterious consequences on the person’s state of health” And “This can result in months of hospitalization”, she explains. The economy “is completely canceled out by months of hospitalization for treatment”underlines Malika Boubekeur.
