CONFIRMED: €30 fee to see a doctor in France from December 2024
Unions agreed to concessions in exchange for improved pay
Fees will go up for the first time since 2017 for some appointment types
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Doctors' fees in France are set to rise from December 2024, after an agreement was reached between unions and the state health agency Assurance maladie to settle a long-running dispute over the cost of care.
It costs €26.50 to see a GP in France, which will rise to €30 under the new deal from December.
The Assurance maladie presented the deal to the unions of independent doctors in February, which they agreed to sign on June 4.
The cost of seeing a specialist will also rise to at least €40, however this will not come into effect until 2025.
What changes under the new deal?
In addition to the €30 price of a GP visit from December 2024, the cost of various specialists will increase from July 2025, including:
Elderly care specialists: €40 (up from the €31.50)
Gynaecologists: €40 (up from the €31.50)
Dermatologists: €60 to screen for melanoma specifically (compared to €47.50 today)
Paediatricians: €40 for a child under two, €35 for a child aged two to six, and €31.50 for a child aged over six (up from €38.50)
Endocrinologists: €60 (up from the current rate of €53.50)
Psychiatrists: €57 (up from €51.70 for basic fees), with a €10 supplement for consultations with children
Some older people (aged 80 or over) could also be required to pay €60 for a longer, annual consultation with their GP for a limited number of specific reasons, from 2026.
This annual consultation will help GPs support patients coming out of hospital, ‘de-prescribing’ medication if they have prescriptions deemed to contain too many tablets or capsules, and filling in forms for the allocation personnalisée d’autonomie (APA) benefit.
The deal comes after long-running negotiations and disagreements between doctors and specialist unions, and Assurance maladie, particularly after the latter increased GP consultation fees by just €1.50 in November 2023, from €25 to €26.50.
The consultation rate had been set at €25 since 2017.
Read also: Doctors’ strike in France: ‘Why €25 per appointment is not enough’
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Unions agree to concessions
In return for the improved pay, doctors' unions agreed to reduce the number of prescriptions of anti-biotics by 10% in 2025, for a potential saving of €400million. This would be followed by a further and 25% in 2027.
Unions also agreed to reduce the number of sick days they declare by 2% each year, and to prescribe fewer MRI scans and laboratory tests.
Who will pay for the increased cost?
Patients with French social security cover are reimbursed 70% of their medical costs by the Assurance maladie, with the remaining 30% paid by their mutuelle.
Read more: These medical consultations now cost more in France
This system will remain unchanged, however, the increased costs will likely result in a rise in the cost of mutuelles, with Le Figaro estimating the increase in consultation fees to result in a €300million gap in the top-up cover budget.
The agreement is set to cost the Assurance maladie €1.6 billion per year, and €1.9 billion in other healthcare expenses.
