To contain the health insurance and social security deficits, the government is preparing to raise
October 1 the annual ceiling of
medical deductiblesthese remainders paid by the policyholders. This ceiling, set at 100 euros since 2005, would increase to
140 euros by decree, an increase of 40%, while a doubling to 200 euros was announced in July then abandoned in the face of criticism.
For the Minister of Health Stéphanie Rist, “It is an effort (…), but a fairer effort financially because it is indexed to inflation“, she explained on franceinfo. The Unsa union retorts that, “According to our calculations, strict consideration of inflation would have raised the ceiling to (…) 131.85 euros in total, and not 140 euros“. The question of franchises is already coming back in 2024 and 2025, with similar projects finally abandoned, recalls Libération.
What the new ceiling for medical deductibles at 140 euros changes
These deductibles and contributions are the small amounts that remain your responsibility for each treatment. A fixed contribution of 2 euros is taken from each medical consultation, radiological examination or biology analysis, up to 8 euros per day and 50 euros per year. For each box of medicine or paramedical procedure, an excess of 1 euro applies, and 4 euros for medical transport.
Today, each component is capped at 50 euros, or an overall ceiling of 100 euros per year. The draft decree raises this total to 140 euros, with 70 euros for consultations and 70 euros for medicines, paramedical procedures and transport, amounts not reimbursed by either Health Insurance or mutual insurance companies. This ceiling will then be reassessed every one or two years depending on theinflation.
Who will be affected by the increase in medical deductibles, who will remain exempt
According to the Ministry of Health, “the average impact for policyholders paying these flat-rate contributions and deductibles is estimated at 10 euros per year, or less than one euro per month“. The minister also recalls that “18 million French people are not affected by these deductibles: minors, pregnant women and the most vulnerable who have complementary solidarity health insurance“.
For people with long-term illnesses, who often combine examinations and treatments, the ministry specifies that “the average impact is estimated at 2 euros per month“They are the ones who are most likely to quickly reach the ceiling of 70 euros for deductibles and contributions, when many occasional policyholders do not reach it over the course of a year.
An increase in medical deductibles at the heart of the savings strategy
Stéphanie Rist assumes to pass by decree and not by a vote in the Assembly, “because we are facing a Social Security deficit, estimated at 20 billion euros in 2026 and it risks getting worse with the crisis in the Middle East“. According to forecasts cited by several media, the deficit
of Health Insurance would already reach 13.8 billion euros in 2026, then 15 billion in 2027. For Unsa, this regular indexation “establishes an automatic and lasting mechanism for increasing the remainder payable by patients“, a “unacceptable logic” which adds to recent reductions in reimbursements for certain medications and treatments.