"It's disgusting": Patients worried about the "hammer blow" on payment for medication

The Prime Minister wants to tighten the screws on healthcare spending. François Bayrou announced on Tuesday that he wanted healthcare spending to be curbed by "around" €5 billion next year. "If we do nothing, healthcare spending will increase by €10 billion next year," he stated during his conference.

In particular, the French will be asked to pay a higher medical deductible on their medication expenses. This amount would be equivalent to 100 euros, or a doubling of the initial price. In concrete terms, patients must currently pay 1 euro each time they purchase a medication, up to a maximum of 50 euros per year. This ceiling will double next year.

The Minister of Labor, Health, Solidarity and Families, Catherine Vautrin, in turn declared that the deductibles will have to be paid directly "at the counter by the insured."

"The risk is that we'll become like the United States, where people die from lack of care because they can't afford it," worries a French patient.

"We must empower patients so that the cost of healthcare becomes more tangible for our fellow citizens," the Prime Minister said.

François Bayrou is on the wrong track, according to Denis, who came to pick up his medication from a Bordeaux pharmacy: "If people are sick, they are sick. It's the doctor who gives the medication, maybe we should turn to the doctors."

Medical procedures and medical transport are also affected, RMC learned from the Prime Minister's office. According to one economist, this carries the risk of seeing healthcare costs increase: "If we reimburse less, patients will no longer seek treatment."

Long-term conditions are also in the government's sights. Starting in 2026, certain medications will no longer be reimbursed for these chronically ill patients, whereas currently, everything is included. "A new blow" for patients who are often in precarious situations, denounces one of their representatives.

"It's disgusting, it worries me about my health," Smahan worries as she leaves a pharmacy in Bordeaux. The young woman needs daily medication and is already struggling to make ends meet.

"It's simply for my survival. Will I have to treat myself less so as not to pay in the end?" she wonders.

François Bayrou also wants to "put an end to the drift" of sick leave, and to end the 100% reimbursement of medications "unrelated" to the illness and the "departure from the status".