“The wheelchair is an extension of the person’s body”: the government has promised that this expensive but essential equipment will be fully reimbursed by Social Security in 2024.
Currently, the price of a manual chair can reach up to 10,000 euros, that of an electric one up to 50,000 euros.
Health Insurance reimburses up to 600 euros in the first case and up to 5,200 euros in the second.
The departments, via the disability compensation benefit (PCH), often contribute to the financing, up to several thousand euros.
“There is always a large remainder to be paid and it is an obstacle course to try to reduce it,” denounces Malika Boubekeur, national advisor of APF France handicap, who has been calling for a reform of reimbursement methods for several years.
However, “the chair is an extension of the person's body, it is an essential means of compensation, adapted to their lifestyle.
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An online petition
Faced with this situation, during the National Disability Conference in April 2023, President Emmanuel Macron announced that wheelchairs will be fully reimbursed from 2024.
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Recently, the government presented stakeholders in the sector with a draft new nomenclature, a copy of which AFP was able to consult.
It provides for an increase in the reimbursement base (2,600 euros for a manual chair, 18,000 euros for an electric one) and sets a sales limit price.
This means that models priced below these limits would be fully refunded, but others would no longer be supported.
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Under these conditions, almost all of the chairs used would no longer be reimbursed, the association was alarmed.
“It’s not up to par, there is a desire to contain expenses,” MP Sébastien Peytavie told AFP.
This elected environmentalist launched a petition to ask the government to respect its promise of full reimbursement: it has already collected 60,000 signatures.
Asked by AFP, the ministry responsible for disabled people indicated that "the work" was continuing with "all the stakeholders" to "find the best approach" so that "everyone can have access to a chair that meets their needs." needs”, starting this summer.
“Wheelchairs, manual or electric, will be 100% covered by health insurance and complementary health insurance,” Deputy Minister Fadila Khattabi assured AFP.
It is an issue of social justice and dignity.
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1 million people affected
Around a million people in France use a wheelchair, including seniors with reduced mobility and people with disabilities and specific needs.
“Without a wheelchair, I can’t leave my house,” Marie-Léa de Torres, 27, explains to AFP.
When the electric model she had used since adolescence broke down, she had to raise 33,000 euros to buy a new one.
Social Security and its mutual insurance cover less than half the amount.
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Faced with the delay in processing her file by a structure in her department, she decides to “manage” to regain her “freedom” as quickly as possible: “I launched an online fundraiser, but it’s degrading to have to ask money to his loved ones,” confides this Ile-de-France resident.
She was finally able to acquire an exhibition model, for 19,000 euros.
Inclined backrest, anti-tip castor, possibility of standing vertically... “Some will be satisfied with a standard model but not everyone,” Fanny Soum-Pouyalet, technical director of the National Association, told AFP French occupational therapists.
“The person must be positioned in a safe and physiological manner to avoid any complications linked to prolonged sitting,” such as pain or pressure sores.
In addition to health problems, if a disabled person has an unsuitable chair, they “will not be able to carry out their daily living activities and they risk losing autonomy,” she warns.