Doctors and dentists in France face action after failing to show fees

Doctors and dentists in France have been accused of failing to provide patients with information about the cost of treatments in a recent investigation into misconduct in the industry. 

France’s consumer protection and anti-fraud agency - the Direction générale de la concurrence, de la consommation et de la répression des fraudes (DGCCRF) - carried out more than 1,100 inspections in 2025 and 2026 of doctors and dentists in private practice, as well as at group medical facilities.

The investigations were targeted based on complaints posted on the consumer watchdog website SignalConso. The agency found broad evidence of medical professionals breaching the rules, with 39% of establishments inspected facing follow-up corrective or enforcement action.

Many of the breaches related to failures to provide patients with the legally required information about prices and reimbursements, and nearly 90% of breaches were corrected.

Some of the misconduct was more serious, however, and included the use of dental prostheses that were erroneously claimed to be made in France and professionals who had asked friends and family to post positive reviews online to improve the image of their practice. 

“The results do not really surprise me. We know that there are many healthcare establishments and professionals that do not display the prices they are legally required to show,” Philippe Schneider, president of CREAI Nouvelle-Aquitaine and a representative of healthcare users at CLCV and France Assos Santé, told The Connexion.

He identified two longstanding problems: healthcare professionals billing for procedures that have not actually been carried out, and additional fees that have not been clearly explained to patients before treatment.

How to avoid unexpected costs

Mr Schneider said patients should check whether a healthcare professional is in secteur 1 or secteur 2 before agreeing to treatment.

“Ideally, patients should go to a healthcare professional in secteur 1, who undertakes not to charge additional fees. But in some specialties, it is very difficult to find a secteur 1 practitioner, so patients may have to go to someone in secteur 2, who is allowed to charge extra.”

Patients can check a doctor’s sector on the French health insurance website, ameli.fr.

The importance of this advice was reflected in one case highlighted in the DGCCRF investigation whereby an imaging centre was fined €150,000 after it misled patients into believing they would be seeing secteur 1 doctors, when most of its practitioners charged higher rates. 

Check fees displayed in waiting room 

Mr Schneider also said patients should check the fee information displayed in the practice’s waiting room.

“Normally, the fees must be displayed in the waiting room, so patients should look at them. If they are not displayed, they should ask the healthcare professional how much extra they will have to pay.”

The DGCCRF investigation found that 55% of doctors inspected had at least one shortcoming in their mandatory fee information. Among dentists checked on price displays, the figure was 52%.

Where a written estimate (devis) is required, patients should request one before proceeding and check that it explains the proposed treatment and the amount they will have to pay.

This step is particularly important for dental work, where costs can vary depending on the treatment and materials used.

Dentist shortcomings 

The DGCCRF found that 26% of dentists inspected in relation to their documentation obligations had at least one shortcoming. These included failing to provide an estimate, issuing one that did not comply with the rules, or failing to give patients traceability documents for crowns and implants. 

Some dental prostheses were also incorrectly described as being made in France.

Mr Schneider advised patients to keep a copy of any written estimate and compare it with the final bill.

“If the amount charged is higher than the estimate, patients have the right to challenge the difference. Legally, the patient can say: ‘I have the estimate, and I will not pay a penny more.’ But in practice, this can be difficult, particularly when patients depend on the doctor for ongoing treatment and are worried about jeopardising that relationship.”

He also recommended checking reimbursement statements from Assurance Maladie, France’s state health insurance system, and from mutuelle, the complementary health insurer.

“Some procedures are billed even though they have not actually been carried out,” he said. “Patients may not notice because the costs are covered almost entirely by state health insurance or their complementary health insurance.”

He said that reimbursement statements can also be difficult to understand because procedures are often identified by codes instead of descriptions that clearly explain what was carried out.

Mr Schneider also said patients should ask questions before agreeing to treatment if its purpose or necessity is unclear. This is because challenging whether a treatment was necessary can be more difficult than disputing a charge for a procedure that was never carried out.

What if you have been charged incorrectly?

Patients who believe they have been charged incorrectly can first raise the matter with the healthcare practice and request a detailed explanation of the bill.

If the issue remains unresolved, they can contact their local state health insurance body CPAM, which can examine the claim and investigate whether the healthcare professional has billed correctly.

Patients can also report problems through SignalConso, the government’s consumer complaints platform, which the DGCCRF uses to identify potential breaches.