Emmanuel Macron said he was in favor of doubling medical deductibles. What does this measure mean which has made the government hesitate for several months?
“Frankly, this does not shock me,” said Emmanuel Macron. The president was questioned on Tuesday January 16 about the possible increase in medical deductibles on the purchase of medicines. The deductible is the amount remaining to be paid to a patient after the portion covered by their health insurance fund. Since 2008, the French have had to pay 50 cents of medical excess on each box of medicine. Since June 2023, the government has been talking about doubling this remaining charge, which would increase to one euro.
This doubling was put on the table during the debates on the 2024 Social Security Budget, provoking an outcry in the ranks of the left, but also among caregivers and patients. Bercy is praising a measure that would allow Social Security to save 800 million euros per year. Former Minister of Health Aurélien Rousseau estimated that this change would cost the French on average 17 euros per year.
At a press conference, Emmanuel Macron minimized this increase in household budgets: “At the moment when I see what our compatriots can spend on telephone plans, daily life… To think that we are going to go from 50 cents to one euro for a box of medicine, I don’t have the feeling that we’re committing a terrible crime,” he said.
The president recalled that an annual ceiling of 50 euros for medical deductibles would be set, in order to prevent people suffering from chronic illnesses from seeing their budget explode. Clearly, patients forced to buy a lot of medicines would no longer pay the deductible beyond the fiftieth box. For others, the increase in deductibles is also a way of “making responsible” the purchase of medicines, said Macron.