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Decline in purchasing power obliges, a large part of the French are forced to reduce their health budget by giving up treatment or obtaining certain drugs that are not reimbursed. This is the observation made by two surveys, released back-to-back in April, revealing that consumers today must adapt and find solutions to be able to better manage ever-increasing healthcare costs. .
Inflation does not only weigh on household consumption in France, it also has an increasingly strong impact on their health expenditure. While more and more French people are turning to non-prescription drugs (88% in 2023 compared to 58% in 2002), most of them today say they are forced to give them up for budget reasons, up to 61%, according to a survey carried out by Ifop for Biogaran. This renunciation of non-reimbursed drugs has almost doubled over the past fourteen years, going from 36% in 2009 to 61% in 2023, and it particularly affects the most modest households and the youngest French people (aged 18 to 24). years).
Pay attention to drug prices
Faced with this phenomenon, the French are adapting and making sure to be able to treat themselves despite the inflationary context. This is reflected in the particular attention paid to the prices of non-prescription drugs (70%), more than to brand names (38%), while an overwhelming majority (88%) would have no objection to turn to medicines of equivalent quality to the major brands if they are at lower prices. In all cases, respondents say they are suspended from the advice of their pharmacist (83%).
It should be noted that this renunciation of certain drugs can prove to be particularly harmful for the French if we consider that more than half of the respondents (57%) declare that they have turned to non-prescription drugs to compensate for the excessive waiting time. to get an appointment with the doctor, when 29% did so because they did not have the budget to advance the consultation fees.
This observation should be compared with another survey conducted this time by Cofidis, in collaboration with CSA Research, and published in mid-April, reporting a substantial increase (+75%) in the annual budget allocated by the French to their health costs, going from 715 euros in 2018 to 1,249 euros in 2023. While more than eight out of ten French people (83%) say they had no difficulty paying their healthcare costs last year, more than a quarter of respondents (26%) admit having been forced to give up certain care over the past 12 months. A figure that rises to 33% for households with dependent children, and 35% for French people aged 25 to 34.
A balance too high
The difficulty in obtaining an appointment with a specialist (30%) and medical desertification (26%) are particularly blamed, but more than four out of ten respondents (42%) also point to the amount of the remainder to be paid which they consider too high. “We are seeing a significant increase in health spending, a sign both of the priority given by the French to health but also of the impact of inflation“, points out Mathieu Escarpit, Marketing Director at Cofidis.
As a result, here again, among those who say they are unable to meet these health costs (17%), a large majority (60%) say they dip into their budget devoted to current expenses, when others turn to their personal savings (39%) or towards their family (18%), or even take out a loan (16%) in order to increase their budget dedicated to health. So many appeals which show that the inflationary context can have serious consequences on the health of the French, and in particular of the most modest households.
*This study was carried out by Ifop for Biogaran by self-administered online questionnaire, from April 5 to 11, 2023, with a sample of 2,005 people, representative of the French population aged 18 and over.
**This study was conducted online by CSA Research for Cofidis, from March 14 to 20, 2023, with a sample of 1,004 French people, representative of the French population aged 18 and over.