There are more than 23,000 specialists who practice excess fees in France according to the National Health Insurance Fund (Cnam). Certain regions are more or less concerned by these tariffs: thus the overruns concern 80% of specialists in Ile-de-France, in the Lyon region and in Alsace against 40% in the west of France (with the exception of the ‘Aquitaine). There are also strong disparities depending on the specialties: Nearly 56% of ophthalmologists perform overruns, 59% of ENTs, 65% of obstetrician gynecologists and more than 79% of surgeons.
Despite these high figures, we can note a slight decrease in the number of physicians practicing fee overruns between 2011 and 2012 (55.9% against 56.1%) after a continuous increase in fees for 30 years. For example, less than 30% of specialists were in excess of fees in 1995 …
These fee overruns can obviously jeopardize equality in access to healthcare for all citizens. This is why the Health Insurance has signed an agreement with doctors’ unions in order to prevent prices from soaring. The signatory doctors undertake to freeze their prices for three years. In return, they will benefit from a reduction in their social contributions and their patients will benefit from a better reimbursement rate by Social Security. For the moment, 5,000 doctors have signed this “access to care contract”.
