Treatment is increasingly expensive, even for the most common conditions treated by liberal health professionals. Last year, the French paid 40 billion euros to health professionals exercising in a liberal capacity, all professions combined: general practitioners and specialists, dentists, medical auxiliaries (nurses, masseurs-physiotherapists, pedicures, speech therapists, etc.). Of this total, 13 billion euros, not reimbursed by compulsory health insurance, remained the responsibility of patients or their complementary insurance, including 7 billion in excess fees.
Fee overruns are legion among a large number of specialists in sector 2 since they total 82% of doctors’ overruns. . In 2012, the latter invoiced more than 2.3 billion euros beyond the tariffs of the “Safety”, an increase of almost 9% in two years. The specialties most concerned are ophthalmology, ENT, gynecology/obstetrics and surgery.
The geographical area is also a factor that creates inequalities between patients. Thus, all specialties combined, a Parisian patient consulting a medical specialist must pay on average, for each act, €37.70 above the Social Security rate, against €15.90 on the national average! It is in Moselle that treatment costs the least, the remainder to be paid being only 8.20 euros.
