In a letter sent to the President of the Senate, Monday, December 18, Élisabeth Borne commits to reforming the AME, state medical aid, while the immigration bill is debated in the joint committee that same day.
In a letter addressed to Gérard Larcher, the President of the Senate, Monday December 18, Élisabeth Borne commits to reforming the AME, state medical aid, at the start of 2024. The Prime Minister thus responds to a request for the right, while negotiations are underway on the immigration bill. “I have asked the ministers concerned to prepare the regulatory or legislative developments which will make it possible to initiate a reform of the AME. As you wished, parliamentarians will be fully involved in this work. The necessary developments must be initiated in beginning of 2024”, writes Élisabeth Borne in this letter, indicates franceinfo.
In this letter, Élisabeth Borne returns to this system, reformed in 2021, saying that it “must be regularly evaluated to verify its relevance and effectiveness”, notes Le Figaro. However, she disputes that the AME would be an “incentive factor” for irregular immigration. According to Les Républicains, the AME is one of the tools considered as a breath of fresh air that promotes immigration to France. This care system, intended for foreigners in an irregular situation, was a sticking point in discussions of the immigration bill with the Republicans. The Senate had adopted amendments replacing the AME with a more restricted system. They were withdrawn during the examination of the text in committee at the National Assembly.
Élisabeth Borne’s letter is a direct response to a request made by Bruno Retailleau, president of the Les Républicains group in the Senate. He wanted a letter to be sent before 5 p.m., Monday December 18, the time of the meeting of the joint committee to debate the immigration bill. For him, this commitment should contain a reform of the AME from the start of 2024, in a more restrictive sense. “There will be no agreement if there is not this letter,” he warned. Bruno Retailleau wants the AME to be reduced to emergency care, as in other European countries.
For Arnaud Robinet, president of the French Hospital Federation, guest of RTL, the abolition of the AME would be a mistake. “Let’s stop the fantasies around the AME, it’s 0.5% of the health budget and its removal would have dramatic consequences,” he assures. “If we remove the AME, funding will be provided by public hospitals, we will accentuate the deficits of public hospitals since there will be care,” he adds.
