Michel Barnier brings his government together on Friday to agree on the roadmap which he will present to the National Assembly on Tuesday. Already, burning issues are emerging, including the desire to reform state medical aid displayed by his Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau.
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Michel Barnier must deliver its general policy declaration (DPG) on October 1 and already finds itself under pressure. Firstly because of the political situation, because the left has already planned to table a motion of censure at the end of next week, while the far right is threatening this, without saying when. Also, several hot topics are already emerging, starting with the tenacious desire of the right to reduce state medical aid (AME) granted to foreigners in an irregular situation.
A true antiphon of the right and the extreme right, the Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau has already openly expressed his wish to reform it. The tenant of Place Beauvau assured that this aid “ of the France the most attractive country in Europe » for migrants. The idea would be to transform the AME into a “ emergency medical aid », with still vague contours, but with radically reduced access.
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The Interior Minister also suggested this week that he would “not not refrain from taking, in particular through regulations, a certain number of measures », on the subject often brandished as a red line by the presidential camp. Faced with this, the President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, put Mr. Retailleau against a “ bypass » of Parliament if the government chose to reform by decree. “ There is no circumvention, there is the Fifth Republic, there are different articles which refer to the legislative domain or the regulatory domain », replied the person concerned.
Former health ministers are alarmed
On Thursday, eight former ministers of Health were alarmed by these speeches in a column published in Le Monde. Restricting or eliminating state medical aid for undocumented immigrants would have “ unacceptable health, human, social and economic consequences », they worried. “ Weakening the AME means exposing our health system to increased pressure from later and therefore more serious and costly treatment. “, they continued.
Aurélien Rousseau, Roselyne Bachelot, François Braun, Agnès Buzyn, Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, Marisol Touraine, Frédéric Valletoux and Olivier Véran are the signatories of this column, published while several ministers of the Barnier government have already positioned themselves in Bruno’s direction Retailleau. “ The AME does not constitute an incentive for immigration to our country, which would be at the expense of the French. It’s a fantasy contrary to the facts », insist the co-signatories, ensuring that the system is already limited to “ a precise scope of care “.
This is not reasonable from a public health plan and from a health care organization plan.
Agnès Firmin-Le Bodo, former Minister of Health, on a reform of the AME
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The AME guarantees foreigners in an irregular situation free medical care under two conditions: illegal residence continues in France for more than three months and resources below a ceiling of 10,166 euros per year (i.e. 847 euros per month ). In 2024, the AME envelope planned by the State stands at 1.2 billion euros, or approximately 0.5% of the health expenditure planned by the Social Security budget (PLFSS). At the end of 2023, there were 466,000 AME beneficiaries. It concerns medical and dental care, reimbursed medications, analysis and hospitalization costs, as well as those relating to certain vaccinations and certain screenings, contraception and abortion.