GP 'overcharged €700,000 in fees'

A GP near Lyon has been arrested on suspicion of stealing €700,000 from the French social security system by overcharging patients over a four-year period.

The woman is alleged to have systematically charged the night-time callout rate of €65 when some patients turned up for an ordinary €23 consultation.

Patients were initially unaware as they benefited from the tiers payant system, meaning the consultation was not paid upfront but instead charged to their health insurer.

Le Progrès newspaper reports that some patients alerted the Assurance Maladie after they started receiving statements for consultations they did not receive. An internal investigation was then opened.

The newspaper added that the GP had invested in several studio apartments in the Lyon area and the Alps with the extra money received. The 59-year-old was questioned by police and brought before a judge on Friday.