Medicine cutback plans condemned

A plan to reduce repayments on treatments for the long-term sick has been attacked by MPs on all sides.

Socialist Party MP Jack Lang attacked the plans as ‘unimaginable’ while UMP MP Jérôme Chartier said that the idea was not inline with French expectations of the health service and said it would be more sensible to review the classification of long-term illnesses.

The reduction was one of several proposals put forward by the directeur de l’assurance-maladie, Frédéric van Roekeghem as part of a package to reduce the health costs of the social security budget by 3.2 billion euros with a view to balancing the budget by 2011. The proposals will be discussed by the government tomorrow.

Around eight million people with long-term illnesses affection de longue durée (ALD) such as aids and diabetes currently receive 100% repayments on all their medicines, a number rising by 4% each year according to Mr van Roekeghem.

Under the proposed reforms the state would only reimburse 35% of the cost of medicines taken to treat lighter symptoms related to the diseases.

Such ‘weaker’ drugs – with a blue sticker – are reimbursed at 35% when not prescribed in association with an ALD condition. There would be no change to the 100% cover for drugs that treat the actual disease.

Mr van Roekeghem said the remaining repayment could be taken up via complimentary mutuelles, although 8% of the population do not have them.

A proposal has also been made that certain conditions be in future removed from ALD status (but not retrospectively), especially those that are not especially costly to treat, including high blood pressure and some kinds of diabetes.

Health minister Roselyne Bachelot did not comment directly on the measure but said: “What generation would we be if we made our children pay for our health?”

“The social security deficit is immoral.”

Photo: sxc/alaasafeit/Alaa Hamed