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To restore public finances, the government is doubling, from this Wednesday, May 15, the amount of fixed contributions deducted from reimbursements for your consultations and medical examinations.
Don’t be surprised when checking your Ameli account. Since Wednesday, May 15, an appointment with your doctor or a blood test costs you more. To restore public finances, the government has in fact doubled the amount of the flat-rate contribution, a sum deducted by Health Insurance from your reimbursements. You will thus pay two euros instead of one after a consultation with your doctor, an X-ray or a blood test. Enough to bring in 440 million euros to the State in a full year.
Let’s take the example of an appointment with your general practitioner. The latter charges you 26.50 euros per consultation which, on paper, is covered 70% by Health Insurance and 30% by your complementary health insurance. Social Security is therefore supposed to pay you 18.55 euros… to which she now withdraws two euros under the famous flat-rate participation, which ultimately amounts to 16.55 euros. For its part, your mutual fund pays you 7.95 euros. Do the calculations and you will see that you are indeed left with two euros to pay since you are only reimbursed up to 24.50 euros.
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An annual ceiling set at 50 euros
If you regularly consult your doctor or often undergo medical examinations, on the other hand, it is likely that you will reach the annual ceiling beyond which Health Insurance can no longer withdraw two euros of fixed contribution from you. After 50 euros have been withdrawn from your reimbursements, your remaining cost becomes zero again (provided you are covered by complementary health insurance).
Your health expenses will soon be capped according to your income?
To reach this ceiling, you must assume that you have, for example, consulted a doctor 25 times (25 x 2 = 50 euros). Or having undergone five medical examinations such as x-rays and blood tests (5 x 2 = 10 euros) then seeing your general practitioner ten times (10 x 2 = 20 euros) and as many times specialists (10 x 2 = 20 euros ). Which amounts to a total of 50 euros of fixed contributions deducted from your reimbursements.
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Another subtlety: if you consult a doctor and have examinations on the same day, Health Insurance cannot deduct more than 4 euros per day from you. Example: you go to a gynecologist then have a blood test and an ultrasound the same day. Social Security deducts two euros from the reimbursement of the appointment with the specialist, and two euros for the blood analysis but will not apply a fixed contribution to the ultrasound.
800 million euros in savings for the State
This is not the first time that the government has attacked patients’ wallets to restore its public finances. As of March 31, medical deductibles had doubled. On the same principle as flat-rate contributions, Health Insurance now deducts one euro from your reimbursements for medicines and paramedical procedures and four euros from your medical transport journeys. All within the daily and annual ceilings. By doubling both medical deductibles and flat-rate contributions, the government hopes to generate 800 million euros in savings in total.
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