According to a survey, almost all French people are attached to the free choice of their healthcare professional and show a certain mistrust of healthcare networks.
The French are very attached to liberal medicine! A poll, carried out by Opinionway in August 2016 (1), shows that 66% of those questioned defend the principle of free choice of healthcare professional. The complementary health care networks, which provide differentiated reimbursements (in particular for optics, dentistry and hearing aids), are therefore not on the rise. No doubt because they de facto limit the possibility for patients to consult a professional of their choice.
And on this subject, respondents are even more categorical when asked if they should be able to choose who to seek treatment. 95% of them adhere to this idea. Ditto when asked specifically about differentiated reimbursements, a solution they overwhelmingly reject. Almost as many (88%) believe that reimbursement for a medical procedure should be the same regardless of the professional chosen by the patient. They are, moreover, 19% to prefer to choose among an exhaustive list proposed by the care network of their complementary.
50-64 year olds very attached to free choice
The older they get, the more policyholders are attached to the freedom to choose their doctor: 63% among 25-34 year olds, against 67% among 35-49 year olds and 50-64 year olds, and even 70% among people 65 and over.
As a reminder, despite the development of networks the aim of which was to limit the financial out-of-pocket expenses for the insured persons, France presents, according to the Institute for Research and Documentation in Health Economics (IRDES), a rate of renunciation of care for financial reasons of 15, 4% of the population; it is the second European country with the highest renunciation rate, mainly for optical and dental care. However, these two sectors are largely integrated into networks.
(1) Survey “The French and the free choice of health professionals” conducted on August 24 and 25, 2016 with a sample of 1,006 individuals representative of the French population aged 18 and over. LJCORP is an information and public relations strategy agency specializing in health, well-being and general interest issues.
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