These medical consultations now cost more in France

Some medical consultations in France have now increased in cost to the patient, since a change to the reimbursement rules yesterday (May 15).

The reste à charge fee, or the participation forfaitaire - the amount that the patient themselves ends up paying for appointments and medical acts - has doubled from €1 to €2.

The participation forfaitaire is automatically deducted from reimbursements to patients covered by the Assurance maladie state healthcare system so it is a cost to the patient. 

In the vast majority of cases, mutuelles and top-up health insurance policies do not cover participations forfaitaires. You can see your participation forfaitaire charges on your Ameli (Assurance maladie) online account, if you log in and go to ‘Mes paiements’, and then ‘Participations forfaitaires et franchises’.

What appointments and procedures are affected?

The new €2 fee applies to: 

• All GP and specialist consultations or procedures

• X-ray examinations;

• medical biology tests. 

The new cost also applies to almost all patients, including people who have an official affection de longue durée (ALD, long-term condition), people who are off work due to illness, and pensioners with a disability (except for certain treatments for war pensioners, see below).

However, the participation forfaitaire paid by each patient is still capped at €4 per day, and €50 per year per person, the Assurance maladie has stated.

What appointments and procedures are not affected?

Some people and appointments are not affected by the price rise, the Assurance Maladie has confirmed on its website. These include:

• Consultations for children and young people under 18 (under 18 on January 1 of the year in progress)

• Pregnant women, from the first day of the sixth month of pregnancy until the 12th day after delivery

• Recipients of the Complémentaire santé solidaire (formerly CMU-C and ACS) or the aide médicale de l'État (AME)

• Pensioners who are war invalids and war victims, but only for treatments linked to the disabilities or conditions directly caused by the war. For other treatments, they must pay the participation forfaitaire.

Dentistry, midwifery, cancer screening, AIDS testing, mental health outpatients, nursing, speech therapy, orthoptics, and hospital treatment are not affected and do not incur the participation forfaitaire.

Also unaffected are healthcare treatments needed due to an act of terrorism (victims must be declared by the Paris public prosecutor's office).