Paying more for the Doctor?

[NormanH]

With the deficit in  the finances of the Health system increasing every year, discussions are taking place today about starting a new 'secteur' of Doctors.

At the moment there are those in "Secteur 1" who charge the tariffs recommended by the Sécurité sociale, and "Secteur 2" who are free to set their own tariffs, of which only the recommended price is re-imbursed.

A third category is now being proposed: "Le secteur optionnel ". In this secteur 30% of  'actes' would be re-imbursed at the Sécurité sociale tariff, and the other 70% could be priced at up to 50% more.

The "Mutuelles" will be authorised to pay the difference, but this might well involve a rise in their prices. It could also involve more Doctors charging higher tariffs.

Only the best qualified doctors will be allowed to join the new secteur.

This is obviously leading to a lot of heated discussion!

One thing which may come out of it is the realisation of the inflationary nature of  paying by 'acte' rather than by 'forfait', which in my opinion is the root problem with the finances of the system, although little discussed in France.