“It’s above all a publicity effect! » President of the UFML-Syndicat, Dr Jérôme Marty is still struggling to understand, in practice, how the “rabbit tax” desired by the government will work. On Saturday, Gabriel Attal indicated that he wanted to charge 5 euros in the event of a medical appointment not being honored. The sum would go entirely to the practitioner concerned.
But concretely, how to do it? In particular by using the bank details provided during the reservation, responded this Monday the two ministers in charge of health (supervisory minister and delegate minister), present on the morning radio show to provide “after-sales service” for the announcements of the head of government.
“A huge barrier to access to care”
“This practice is already common in other sectors, which have adopted the banking footprint solution to avoid losses and make their customers more responsible,” said Stéphane Pardoux, general manager of the National Agency for Supporting the Performance of Health and Medical-Social Establishments (ANAP).
Reservation platforms like Doctolib already require patients who make an appointment online to provide their bank details… but only for teleconsultations. Technically, they could do this for all appointments, because “it is a system that exists and that works”, according to the Ministry of Health.
But do they want it, or at least are they ready for it? Doctolib says it is willing to work with the government on this subject, “which deserves attention”. But in the eyes of the site, “the compulsory banking footprint would be a huge obstacle to access to care”. Clearly, patients would be more hesitant about making an appointment. Not to mention those who don't have a credit card.
Outside of the platform, “we are thinking about other tools”
What about doctors not registered on a platform? “This represents a large part of them,” points out Margot Bayart, vice-president of MG France, for whom “this story of unfulfilled appointments is far from being our main problem”. In 2022, 64% of general practitioners did not use Doctolib, Maiia or even Keldoc, according to a study by the Ministry of Health.
Asking for bank details “will be a great complexity for them because they are overwhelmed, especially since they do not always have a secretary”, estimates Jérôme Marty. In his eyes, “the most obvious solution would be for the sum to be deducted by Health Insurance from the patient's next appointment”.
Gabriel Attal, who aims for entry into force on January 1, 2025, himself recognizes a “technical challenge”. “For health professionals who do not use an online platform, we are considering other tools” than the banking imprint, the Ministry of Health was told without further details this Monday. Even if technical solutions were found, the decision to charge - or not - a rabbit would remain in the hands of the practitioner.