The 2026 budget is being written under high tension and the
health is at the heart of arbitration. Guest of the 8 p.m. news, Amélie de Montchalin set an institutional course in the middle of the parliamentary sequence: “All voted amendments be transmitted to the Senate“, assured Amélie de Montchalin on France 2.
Basically, the Minister of Public Accounts revealed an additional envelope for the hospital and its priorities. The government wantssupport an increase in hospital resources of one billion more” than what was initially planned. This billion extension must
irrigate the hospital, autonomy and, more broadly, the 2026 health budget. The funding battle begins.
2026 health budget: what the announced extension covers
Amélie de Montchalin calls for budgetary “choices” focused on prevention and care. She highlights the “largest plan for chronic disease prevention and mental health support“. Also on the menu, 4,500 recruitments in nursing homes, support for France Santé, support for women and birth leave. Markers presented as structuring for the provision of care.
This budgetary reinforcement aims targeted positions in the hospital and in autonomy, with a promise of breathing space for establishments under pressure. The stated objective remains to cushion urgent needs while consolidating prevention. The fine calibration will be decided in the parliamentary shuttle, with credit lines and sub-envelopes to be specified.
Franchises, mutual insurance, medicines: how the executive wants to finance health
To justify the effort, the minister recalls the expectations of the insured: the French “want to continue to be well cared for“. Hence the idea of having “adapted health policies”. In terms of revenue and savings, the medication track is explicitly mentioned: do “real efforts on medicines with the pharmaceutical industries“. Another lever, ask for complementary: “make mutual contributions a little more, especially those which have high management costs“. Options that target mutual insurance and medicationsamong other budgetary instruments.
The question of medical deductibles also comes back on the table.
“We are the only country in the world where the remaining payment is the lowest. We want to remain the country where it is the lowest” declared the minister.
At the same time, she emphasizes that 18 million French people pay nothing for their health and raises the debate: “Do we want to expand to more than 18 million French people, the most modest, the most fragile?“. Before warning that, to provide good care, the system must be “well financed”. A “a certain number of proposals had been put on the table“, she said, and they will be discussed in Parliament in the coming weeks.
Proposals that should ignite the National Assembly
And in this case, the minister did not go into details because many of these proposals have every chance of inflaming the National Assembly. To fill the Social Security hole of 5.5 billion euros, the government has effectively put divisive measures on the table:
- The freezing of social benefits (family allowances, active solidarity income, personalized housing assistance, etc.) usually indexed to inflation;
- The doubling of medical franchises: for boxes of medicines and paramedical procedures, it would be increased to 2 euros, while the fixed contribution for medical procedures would increase to 4 euros, and that for medical transport to 8 euros. The government is also considering applying this logic to dental consultations and medical equipment;
- Healthcare costs, including those related to hospital management, generally increase by 4% each year, mainly due to population aging. However, the Social Security Financing Bill (PLFSS) forecasts that Health Insurance expenditure will reach 270.4 billion euros in 2026, which represents an increase of only 1.6% compared to the previous year;
- The limitation of the first work stoppage to 15 days for a town doctor and thirty days in hospital.