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To combat fake sick leave, the Health Insurance is launching a mandatory anti-fraud form on July 1st.

To combat fake sick leave, the Health Insurance is launching a mandatory anti-fraud form on July 1st.

By The New Obs with AFP

Published on

For work stoppages, a new paper form “difficult to falsify and more secure” will be mandatory from July 1.

For work stoppages, a new paper form "difficult to falsify and more secure" will be mandatory from July 1. MOURAD ALLILI/SIPA

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How can we stem the spread of fake sick leave certificates on social media and the internet? Health insurance is making a new , "hard to falsify and more secure" paper form mandatory from July 1st for all paper sick leave certificates.

Although the vast majority of sick leave certificates are now issued electronically and securely, false sick leave certificates still represent financial losses for health insurance of "more than 30 million euros in 2024, compared to 8 million in 2023" , reports the official website of the French administration.

The sale of fake tickets on social media or on the internet is "the cause of this sharp increase" , according to this platform.

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These fraudulent sites have been denounced by MP Antoine Vermorel-Marques (Republican Right). The elected representative from the Loire region recounts on his social networks how "for 19 euros, without even seeing a doctor" he was able to obtain a falsified sick leave certificate. "Frankly, I didn't think it was so easy to commit fraud," laments the man who submitted a bill in April aimed at "dismissing employees using fake sick leave certificates."

Special paper and magnetic ink

Available since September 2024, this document was previously only recommended for healthcare professionals. The new product features seven authentication points: special paper, a holographic label, magnetic ink, and prescriber identification features.

Sick leave documents that can be completed and then printed from prescription software will now be rejected by health insurance organizations. The same will apply to "scanning and photocopying sick leave documents."

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Bruno Le Maire at the National Assembly on March 26, 2024.

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The Health Insurance reminds us that "no sick leave can be obtained without a consultation or teleconsultation with a health professional" . In the event of a teleconsultation, the sick leave or renewal of sick leave "cannot exceed a duration of three days if the prescriber is neither the attending physician nor the referring midwife" .

For healthcare professionals, electronic transmission via the Amelipro platform "of a dematerialized sick leave notice remains the most secure way to avoid fraud and theft," insists the Health Insurance. Nearly eight out of ten sick leave notices are already transmitted electronically to the Health Insurance "by prescribers (mainly doctors or midwives) from their computer," according to this organization. This electronic transmission allows "not only shorter treatment times, but also enhanced security conditions."

Up to three times the amount of damages in the event of fraud

But in certain situations, such as a home consultation, the use of an electronic work stoppage is not possible, and "a three-part Cerfa paper form must be used" , explains the Health Insurance.

The patient must then send sections 1 and 2 within 48 hours to the medical department of their primary health insurance fund (CPAM). Section 3 must be given to the employer, if the patient is employed, or kept, if they are self-employed. If the patient is unemployed, section 3 must be sent to France Travail.

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Guillaume Kasbarian, Minister of the Civil Service, at the National Assembly, October 29, 2024.

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Policyholders who submit false sick leave certificates to the Health Insurance Fund are exposed to "heavy financial penalties," the organization warns. Fraudsters first risk "reimbursing in full the daily allowances wrongly received." "Very high financial penalties, up to three times the amount of financial loss suffered by the Health Insurance Fund," may also apply.

In the event of a repeat offense or large-scale fraud, legal proceedings may be initiated "for forgery and use of forgery and fraud, offenses punishable by 5 years' imprisonment and a fine of 375,000 euros."

By The New Obs with AFP

Le Nouvel Observateur

Le Nouvel Observateur

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