The French government plans to raise the annual cap on medical deductibles paid by patients to 140 euros, a 40% increase, according to a draft decree seen by the news agency AFP on Monday. The move comes after ministers abandoned an earlier plan to double the ceiling to 200 euros.
Under the new cap, patients would pay up to 70 euros a year for medical consultations and up to 70 euros combined for medication boxes, paramedical treatments and medical transport. The increase is due to take effect on October 1, according to the draft decree.
The government said the new ceiling reflects inflation since 2005, when the previous cap of 100 euros was set.
Reassessed every one or two years
The draft text states that the new amount will now be reassessed every one or two years in line with inflation. It has been sent for a consultative opinion to the board of the Assurance Maladie, France's national health insurance body.
Stéphanie Rist's office said the government had taken note of the reservations and opposition expressed by the boards of the Social Security funds, as well as by representatives of health professionals and patients, against the initial plan to double the cap.
Minister reversed course last week
Rist, the French Health Minister, announced last week that she was dropping the plan to double the deductibles, though she had not said at the time what measure would replace it.
Rist told the newspaper Le Figaro that the announced doubling had not been understood and could have appeared brutal.
With autumn budget debates approaching, the government is looking for ways to increase savings. The Assurance Maladie deficit is currently projected at 13.8 billion euros for 2026 and 15 billion euros for 2027.
How the deductible cap works
The cap is the maximum amount that people covered by France's national health insurance can be asked to pay each year for medication, medical consultations, care-related transport and paramedical treatments, without reimbursement from Assurance Maladie or supplementary private insurers known as mutuelles.
Adult patients are currently charged a flat fee of 2 euros for every consultation or procedure carried out by a doctor, as well as for radiology exams and medical laboratory tests. That fee cannot currently exceed 8 euros a day or 50 euros a year.
For medication and paramedical treatments, a deductible of 1 euro per box or procedure applies, also capped at 50 euros a year under current rules. That same cap also covers deductibles on medical transport, which are charged at 4 euros per trip.
