Doctors have the blues, between inflation which is eating into their purchasing power, coercive measures to send them to medical deserts and the delegation of part of their tasks to paramedics.
It is in this context that their unions started negotiations on Wednesday with Medicare to establish the next medical convention, setting for five years the financial rules and the principles of organization of the profession.
The objective is to find a point of agreement before the end of February.
"Doctors are in great pain,"
warns Corinne Le Sauder (FMF), general practitioner near Orleans.
“
They are harassed, it doesn't take much for some to move.
This convention must be a psychological shock,”
abounds Philippe Vermersch (SML), stomatologist in the Var.
"
This negotiation is important with profound transformations in liberal medicine in a post-Covid context, an aging population and medical shortages",
acknowledged Thomas Fatôme, Director General of Health Insurance.
Its roadmap, set by the government, revolves around four priority areas: guaranteeing access to care for all, strengthening the quality of care, guaranteeing an attending physician by freeing up medical time, and continuing the development of digital technology by health.
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But the liberal doctors, them, await in priority a revaluation of their tariffs.
All the unions refused to wait until January to address this central issue.
Especially since, on the ground, discontent crystallizes through movements such as Fridays of Anger, or the Doctors for Tomorrow collective which campaigns for a consultation at 50 euros, corresponding to the European average, and calls for a strike. December 1 and 2.
Other unions, such as the CSMF, plead for the establishment of tariff levels according to the complexity of the consultations.
In return, the doctors would undertake to see more patients and to make advanced consultations in the medical deserts in a
“logic of rights and duties”.
Strengthen attractiveness
“The slump in liberal medicine requires a tariff shock which cannot be limited to 2 or 3 euros. But with an envelope for city care up 2.9%, this does not even compensate for inflation. The bride's basket is empty”,
already protests Jérôme Marty (Ufml).
“Only catching up with inflation is 3 billion.
The consultation at 50 euros is 11 billion”,
figures Richard Talbot (FMF).
The day before, the Minister of Health, François Braun, defended that the envelope for city care next year was
"more than 100 billion euros, higher than that of the hospital".
If we disrupt the health system, it is the patients who will pay the price
Agnes Giannotti (MG France)
While the doctors shortened the first discussion session, posing several technical points as a prerequisite, Thomas Fatôme said he was
"attentive to their concerns",
not without assuring that
"the agreement will carry revaluations and strengthen the attractiveness of medicine general, clinical specialties such as pediatrics, or psychiatry.
In this negotiation, which is supposed to last four months, many subjects will have to be addressed, such as flat-rate pricing or the role of the attending physician.
“Our fight is the course of care around the attending physician.
If we disrupt the health system, it is the patients who will pay the price”,
insists Agnès Giannotti (MG France).
Read alsoRetired doctors to the rescue of medical deserts
Other topics: the long-awaited administrative simplification - the nomenclature has more than 7500 lines!
- or the question of medical assistants, the number of which the government can increase from 4,000 currently to 10,000 in 2025.
Medicare is pushing us to recruit medical assistants, by financing the first three years.
But we don't want to live on subsidies like farmers.
We want to pay our staff by being remunerated at our fair value, for the work accomplished, the responsibilities and the long years of study”,
swears Corinne Le Sauder.
Back to prices.
