The deputies rejected the amendment which aimed to extend maternity protection to all female doctors, without distinction of sector of practice.
Between experimentation with vaccination by pharmacists and the pObligation for the director of the CNAM (1) to unilaterally lower medical tariffs, the deputies have a few nasty surprises in store for doctors in the Social Security Financing Bill (PLFSS) 2017. But parliamentarians did not stop there. Against all expectations, they returned to the text providing for maternity leave for all female doctors.
With 20 votes against and 12 votes in favor, the deputies rejected late in the night from Thursday to Friday an amendment to article 43 of the PLFSS, tabled by the right and adopted in the Committee on Social Affairs last week. It aimed to extend maternity protection to all female doctors, regardless of their sector of practice.
15,000 female doctors
Now, we are back to the initial text defended by the Minister of Health, which grants maternity leave only to female doctors installed in sector 1 or who have undertaken to limit their rates via a healthcare access contract (CAS). And faced with this difference in treatment between practitioners, doctors did not mince their words last February. “Madam Minister, it is unworthy of you to create a distinction between female doctors (…) they all exercise their profession with the same passion and the same dedication to their patients”, wrote for example the CSMF (2) Young Doctors.
During the heated debates which preceded the vote in the Assembly, Bernard Accoyer (LR), at the origin of this amendment, even called for an end to “segregation” between female doctors. “Maternity protection was not conceived as a new social right but as an element of attractiveness towards certain working conditions”, Marisol Touraine retorted immediately. Medical unions are now calling on senators to rectify what they believe to be inequality and injustice.
As a reminder, the amount of this maternity leave is € 3,218 on January 1, 2016 per month for 3 months. In addition to existing measures, it will improve maternity coverage for around 15,000 female doctors of childbearing age and applying opposable tariffs. By contributing to the fixed costs of their practice, this ASM will indeed limit the financial penalties they suffer during these maternity periods.
The other health professionals wind up
Last february, representatives of non-medical health professions also denounced the “discriminatory” nature of this new maternity protection granted to certain female doctors, and called for its “immediate” extension to other liberal health professionals. “Non-physician health professionals have the same right as female physicians to be able to be relieved of financial concerns during their pregnancy,” wrote in a joint press release unions of physiotherapists (FFMKR, SNMKR), speech therapists (FNO), midwives (ONSF), chiropodists (Fnp), nurses (Sniil, Fni, Convergence nurse, Onsil) hearing aid specialists (Unsaf), orthoptists (SNAO), dentists ( UJCD, CNSD).
(1) The National Health Insurance Fund
(1) The Confederation of French Medical Syndicates
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