These “comfort” drugs would not have sufficient benefit to continue to be taken care of.
Yannick Neuder, Minister of Health and Access to Care, reopens a sensitive file: the derepressure of so -called “low -service medical service” (SMR), currently reimbursed up to 15 %. Qualified as “Comfort drugs” by the government, these drugs whose effectiveness is deemed “Very limited” represent nearly 600 million euros in spending per year for health insurance. To guarantee better use of public resources,“We have to focus our efforts on high SMR treatments, reimbursed at 65 % or 100 %, where clinical gain is demonstrated”, Justifies the Minister during an intervention on LCP on June 2, 2025.
If the government’s objective is to improve the effectiveness of care and control expenses, this debate affects the quality of life of many French people. Some of these drugs may be essential for people with functional disorders or chronic diseases, even if their clinical benefit has not been sufficiently demonstrated. The Minister’s announcement has already aroused concerns in several patient associations and health professionals, who fear a fracture in access to treatments, especially for the most fragile.
According to the list, established by the National Health Insurance Fund for Employee Workers (CNAMTS) on the basis of the advice of the Transparency Commission (CT) of the High Authority for Health (HAS), 171 low SMR drugs could be affected by this reimbursement. Among the best known of the general public are Gaviscon® (anti-acid), Meteospasmyl® (antispasmodic), Valium® (anxiolytic), Dexeryl® (emollient for dry skin), Betadine® (disinfectant), Zovirax® (antiviral for herpes), Noctran® (hypnotic for sleep disorders) …
For the moment, this proposal remains a work track, but it could lead to a more concrete reform within the framework of the social security financing bill (PLFSS) for 2026. The debate remains open between better budget management and the guarantee of fair access to care, a major concern for the French.
