Decrease in purchasing power, dissatisfaction among pharmacists, the announcement by the Minister of Health and Labor on the increase in the price of the medical deductible is criticized by health professionals in the metropolitan area of Nice.
The pharmacists along the coast find it hard to swallow the pill. On July 15, Prime Minister Franรงois Bayrou unveiled plans to save 5.5 billion on healthcare spending for 2026. Among the cost-saving measures is the increase in medical deductibles. This term is commonly used to refer to the amount deducted from reimbursements made by the Health Insurance fund, in other words, the portion that remains your responsibility for the cost of reimbursed medications (one euro per box of medication, editor’s note). The increase in the price to be paid at the counter irritates the owner of the large Cassini Pharmacy: “We are against this increase, it will directly affect patients’ wallets.”
Raphaรซl Gigliotti, president of the General Pharmacists Union of Alpes-Maritimes, is frustrated by the announcements made by Catherine Vautrin, Minister of Labor, Health, Solidarity, and Families. “It is not up to the citizens to pay again for economic deteriorations. We must know how to put limits between individuals’ health needs and the economy.” Moreover, according to him, making patients responsible is a good idea, as is education, but he cannot imagine that increasing their cost will make them more autonomous. Valรฉrie, based at the Central Pharmacy, a pharmacist, is less critical: “Social Security can explain its approach to patients.โ According to her, after a decade of existence, part of her clientele has not been informed of its creation.
Clarification on the exceptions
In certain cases, some people are not affected by this. It does not include children and young people under 18, beneficiaries of complementary health solidarity or State Medical Aid (AME). There are also pregnant women from the first day of the 6th month of pregnancy until the 12th day after delivery. Minors for contraception and the morning-after pill without parental consent and victims of a terrorist act, for healthcare costs related to the event, are exempt from this new co-payment pricing.
