The new year brings a raft of changes to healthcare in France, with the introduction of a minimal fee for some foreign residents in France, improved access to disability support and thousands of France Santé health centres.
New fee for foreigners
A new minimal charge is set to be introduced for some foreign residents who live in France and use the health system without having contributed to it, notably those who do not pay French social charges because they are exempt under double tax treaties.
The measure, added as an amendment to the 2026 social security finance law, is aimed in particular at people holding ‘visitor’ visas or residency cards.
It seeks to close a loophole by which, since the creation of the Puma universal healthcare system in 2016, some foreign residents have been able to access healthcare without making financial contributions.
Originally presented by its sponsor, MP François Gernigon (Horizons, Maine-et-Loire), as targeting American retirees on visitor visas, the final legal wording adopts a broader formulation.
It applies to people resident in France who do not work and who do not pay the main social charges (CSG or CRDS) because they are exempt under an international agreement, such as a double tax convention.
The law indicates that the fee would be payable on a periodic basis. If it is not paid within a specified timeframe, the local health insurance body (CPAM) would review the individual’s situation and notify them that their healthcare rights may be suspended.
The text also states that the obligation to pay must “take account of international conventions and European regulations”.
This strongly suggests that holders of S1 forms - including UK and EU pensioners whose healthcare costs are covered by another state - would be exempt. Other exemptions may also apply where healthcare is demonstrably financed by another country.
The amount of the new fee has not yet been set. It will not apply to people who already pay the existing so-called ‘Puma tax’, which affects individuals with substantial unearned income such as investment or rental income.
Those most likely to be affected include the group initially cited by the amendment’s author: American retirees on renewable one-year visitor residency cards whose US pensions are exempt from French social charges under the US-France double tax treaty.
The broader wording could also encompass other cases, such as UK government pensioners below state pension age who are not yet eligible for an S1 form and who do not pay French social charges on their pensions due to the UK-France tax treaty.
France Santé
A France Santé label for health centres meeting certain quality criteria will be rolled out to more places around France, with the object of establishing 2,000 by summer 2026 and 5,000 ‘by 2027’, according to the prime minister.
The aim is to have at least one such structure within 30 minutes of everyone’s home, and to be able to secure a doctor’s appointment within 48 hours.
Each France Santé structure (many of which will be existing multi-professional health centres) must have at least a doctor and a nurse, offer appointments at standard state fees without extra charges, and be open at least five days a week.
Fee increase for appointments with certain specialists
Fees for appointments with certain specialists include gynaecologists, psychiatrists, and paediatricians will increase on January 1, 2026.
Originally set to be introduced in July 2025, they were pushed back.
Fee increases apply to sector 1 specialists and those in sector 2 who are signed up to the OPTAM scheme, with reimbursement rates (generally 70%) from Assurance Maladie remaining unchanged.
Disability support
Improvements are promised to simplify life for disabled people, including an in-person meeting at the maison départementale des personnes handicapés for all those making a first request for a disability benefit, to explain their rights and help them fill in the forms.
Families with disabled children whose condition is not expected to improve will no longer have to make renewed requests for AEEH benefit every two or three years.
Similarly, extra financial aids or adaptations provided to children in schooling will all be allocated for a complete school ‘period’ (maternelle, primaire, collège, lycée).
All of a person’s disability entitlements will have the same start and renewal dates. Benefits will continue, even after an entitlement period ends, if a renewal request was submitted in time but processing is lengthy.
The transition into retirement is promised to be fluid, with no break in income if changing from the AAH disability benefit (mainly for those of working age) to a retirement pension and/or Aspa pension top-up.
Other changes
Sick notes will be limited in how much leave they provide. The first sick-note written by a doctor can offer a maximum one month of leave before a new note is required. Subsequent notes for the same issue can provide up to two months of sick-leave before needing to be renewed.
More people are likely to digitise their carte Vitale in 2026, which as of late 2025 can be done by downloading an app simply called ‘carte vitale’.
La Mutualité française, representing top-up health insurers, estimates that premiums will rise by 4.3% for individual policies and 4.7% for ‘collective’ (eg. workplace) ones in 2026.
A decree is expected to set a maximum permitted concentration of nicotine in smoking and vaping products, and to ban certain vape ‘flavours’, which are thought to encourage young people to use them.
From January 1, GPs can offer a new €60 ‘long consultation’ for patients over 80, once a year, to complete certain time-consuming tasks.
These could include a review of medications, help to fill in a form requiring medical input (eg. for APA dependency benefit), or to review their situation after coming out of hospital.
