Negotiations between liberal doctors and Health Insurance ended on Tuesday evening February 28. One after another, doctors’ unions rejected the proposals. The crisis is deep between the profession and the government.
The €25 consultation fee had not been increased since 2017. Doctors were hoping for a substantial increase, at least equal to that of inflation. Health insurance, which seeks at the same time to fight against medical deserts, offered a rate considered very low (€26.50) or a rate of €30 under conditions: having more patients, participating in on-call duty or working in a medical desert.
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According to the ministry, 40% of doctors already checked these boxes and could have earned €20,000 more each year. For doctors, who work more than 55 hours a week on average and who are overwhelmed with administrative tasks, this conditional measure illustrates the lack of consideration for their profession. And it cannot encourage young doctors to settle down.
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Towards a two-speed medicine?
In a country where the health care system was based on well-established city medicine, the current malaise is serious. Especially since the hospital is also out of breath. It may just be a desperate way of trying to put pressure on the government, but thousands of doctors are now asking their authorities for information on how to get out of the way, so that they can practice free fees. . The deconvention of some of them would open the door to a two-speed medicine.
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