The right-wing Senate voted to reduce the Aid budget, which guarantees access to healthcare to illegal aliens, to its 2008 level. The government wanted to increase it.
The debate on State Medical Aid (AME), which guarantees access to healthcare for foreigners in an irregular situation, is resurfacing. The Senate, with a right-wing majority, in fact reduced the AME’s budget last Saturday to its 2008 level, ie 475 million euros, while the government wanted to increase it to 760 million.
An increase of 50% between 2008 2013
As revealed The Generalist, on the occasion of the debate on the 2015 budget, senators UMP and centrists adopted against the opinion of the socialist government an amendment in this direction of Francis Delattre (UMP). According to these members of parliament, it is a question of “translating a desire for a profound renovation of the system, without denying the need to maintain access to urgent care for foreigners in an irregular situation. “
The cost of AME “is progressing at an unbearable rate: 50% between 2008 and 2013”, they specify.
To reverse this trend, the senator from Val-d’Oise (Ile-de-France) pleaded for the refocusing of free access to healthcare on vulnerable groups, “that is to say pregnant women and minors, and for other categories of applicants “the introduction of an annual or monthly contribution of a significant amount (…) or the payment of the remainder dependent on certain medical costs”. “
AME for urgent care maintained
And to reassure Socialist senators, Francis Delattre assured that “in all cases, the AME for urgent care would be maintained. In addition, a specific system for the full management of prophylaxis care could be introduced, in order to prevent the appearance or spread of infectious diseases. “
“The debate on AME is as recurrent as it is unhealthy,” said Yves Daudigny (PS) in remarks reported by Doctor’s Daily. “Restricting access to healthcare for disadvantaged people is to participate in a media escalation. How can we say that we are ready to leave strangers without care who will ultimately have to be hospitalized when they are at their worst? It is an absurdity, worse, a shame, ”he concluded.
The examination of the budget in the High Assembly is to last until December 9. The text will then be the subject of a joint committee (seven deputies, seven senators) which will try to find a version common to both chambers. In the event of failure, the National Assembly will have the last word.
A useful device but not monitored by the State
This new controversy over AME comes after The Parisian revealed last June that the budget allocated to this service had soared, going from 588 to 744 million euros between 2012 and 2013. Marisol Touraine herself had recognized on June 3 before the senators, frauds in this system and that it intended to put it in order.
To better detect abuse, the Minister of Health had declared that she wanted, for example, to continue the controls initiated in the various primary funds. “From 2015, we will have statistics allowing us to compare the rates of acceptance or refusal of State medical aid fund by fund”, in order to know whether or not there is excessive use of this device. . Another possibility mentioned by the Minister of Health: to cooperate better with the countries of origin so that these foreigners have better access to care in their country.
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