'Extra payments' to specialists under discussion

[NormanH]

As I have posted before, an increasing number of specialists practice as 'secteur 2': their tariffs are 'libre'.

This is a particularly unfortunate 'faux ami' because it doesn't mean that they are 'free', it means that they are free to charge  what they like above the tariff set by the Sécurité Sociale.

This has been abused by some and those who are considered to be at fault could find themselves deprived of the right to charge this extra for a maximum period of five years.

http://www.lefigaro.fr/conjoncture/2009/10/10/04016-20091010ARTFIG00510-depassements-d-honoraires-durcussement-des-sanctions-.php

There are other sanctions proposed, but in general the point to remember is that many specialists charge over the odds, and to cover this you need a Mutuelle that pays out at least 150% of the tariff agreed by the Sécurity Sociale.

For a map showing the number of specialists by region  who don't charge extra see here

http://www.lefigaro.fr/conjoncture/2009/09/23/04016-20090923ARTFIG00035-depassements-d-honoraires-des-inegalites-regionales-surprenantes-.php

It's calculated on the basis of the number of specialists per 100,000 people living below the minimum wage.

You can get a good idea from it where there are shortages of Doctors who don't charge extra.