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Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director)
Before the Senators, Geneviève Darrieussecq, Minister of Health, announced the reduction in the reimbursement rate for medicines and medical consultations by Social Security from 2025. Announcements which risk primarily affecting the most vulnerable French people.
Hard blow for the health budget… You will soon be less well supported by Social Security. The Minister of Health declared yesterday that the reimbursement rate for medicines would drop by 5% in 2025. The “moderation fee”, most often payable by supplementaries, will only change by 5% for medical consultations while ” “it was potentially possible to increase it by 10%”, specified the minister at the opening of the debates on the draft Social Security budget for 2025.
A goal of 5 billion euros in savings
Indeed, the government’s initial plan provided for a 10% reduction in the cost of medical consultations, going from 70% to 60%, but they should ultimately be reimbursed at 65%. For medicines, the three current reimbursement rates (65%, 30% and 15%) should also be reduced in a similar manner.
The savings objective set “to the tune of 5 billion euros” on health spending provide for other measures. The Minister of Health declared: “We are also considering reductions in health products for 1.2 billion euros.” as well as “efficiency measures at the hospital“.
A “slippage” in drug-related expenses
Geneviève Darrieussecq spoke of a “skid” in spending linked to medicines this year, which was “estimated at 1.2 billion euros”. The government wants to tackle this problem through a “dialogue with manufacturers in order to find compensation mechanisms”.
Consequences for the most fragile patients
While waiting for this “dialogue” to move forward, it is the users who will quickly see the consequences of this measure. “It’s a triple penalty for sick people and people with limited financial resources. When we have multiple chronic pathologies, requiring polypharmacy, this represents tens of euros to pay out for patients.” regrets Dr. Gérald Kierzek.
French people who have mutual insurance should be reimbursed, but contributions will inevitably increase. And for those who don’t have one (3 million French people), it’s an out-of-pocket expense.
“In addition, it is obvious that the refusal of care will increase as well as the use of emergency rooms and hospitals which are already saturated. concludes Dr. Kierzek.