How can we stop healthcare costs from rising year after year? The sea serpent of stricter control of sick leave is resurfacing, while budgetary issues and the challenge of restoring public finances are taking centre stage on the political stage.
In front of the press, on Monday, September 9, the president of the National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM), Thomas Fatôme, urged the executive to “get the question”emphasizing a “spending growth” work stoppages, which turned out to be “extremely fast” in the first half of 2024. One way of saving among others, which should be included – or not – in the draft law on the financing of Social Security (PLFSS) planned for the fall, but whose preparation is planned for the end of the year, pending the formation of a government. Future deficits in the health branch of Social Security will be “probably higher than expected” – more than 11.4 billion euros.
In both hospitals and community medicine, the fate of the health sector is at the heart of concerns. During his first trip as Prime Minister, on Saturday 7 September, to the Necker hospital in Paris, Michel Barnier told healthcare workers that there is a need to “Savings to be made”Although it promises “progress in spending efficiency”, For “preserve public service”.
Request for “cost-effective financing”
Although the PLFSS should arrive at the Hemicycle on the 1stAhem In October, unless there is a change in the calendar, several elements of the budget equation are already known. In July, the committee on the alert on the evolution of expenditure on health insurance underlined this: there is already a “high risk of overcoming” in community care (among private doctors) of around 1 billion euros by 2024, when the target set for this component represented 108.4 billion euros.
This change is explained by the “dynamic” support, but also by an initial increase in the price of the consultation (from 25 to 26.50 euros, in November 2023). The trend is expected to continue in 2025, with the translation into the budget columns of the “medical agreement”, this new contract signed in June by the Health Insurance with private doctors. After months of stormy negotiations, the latter has implemented a series of increases, including the basic consultation, which will increase to 30 euros from December.
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