Even a well-known patient with the pharmacist will have to take out their wallet.
A new rule applies in all French pharmacies and directly concerns the issuance of drugs. According to the National Health Insurance Fund (CNAM), this measure aims to secure the care path and to fight against the increasingly frequent fraud in the issuance of sensitive treatments. In question: a marked increase in misappropriation of prescriptions, especially for drugs with high traffic potential such as opioids, antidiabetics or certain expensive treatments, the price of which exceeds 300 euros per box.
To limit abuses, health insurance thus hardens the possibility of benefiting from third -party payment in pharmacies. As a reminder, with the third -party third party, the patient does not advance the payment of medicines with the pharmacist. Social security and mutual security settle its bill. The third -party third party is automatic for people with a long -term condition (ALD), pregnant women or beneficiaries of complementary solidarity health. For the others, it is conditioned on the presentation of the Vitale card and the up -to -date mutual card. This is where an important change comes.
Health insurance, in agreement with pharmacist unions, decides to make the presentation of the vital card in pharmacies compulsory “To benefit from care”. “The presentation of the vital card will be systematically required to benefit from third -party payment” warns the CPAM in a press release. Even a well -known patient with the pharmacist will have to pay all of his drugs if he does not have his card on him. He will have the possibility of requesting a care sheet to be sent to his cash register, which will delay the refund. Three exceptions are planned: infants under 3 months old, EHPAD residents and beneficiaries of state medical aid (AME).
In pharmacies, explanatory posters are made available to inform the insured. They recall the good practices to adopt and insist on the importance of always having your vital card on oneself so as not to advance the sum of your drugs. For the Minister of Health, Catherine Vautrin, this new rule is part of an approach to accountability of patients: “Healing is to act with responsibility. Everyone has a role to play.” A way, too, to preserve the financial balance of the care of medicines in France.
