April 5, 2017.
An investigation by the Defender of Rights shows that the French who live in a precarious situation, in particular those who are holders of the CMU-C card, would be less welcome by doctors.
Many prejudices circulate on holders of the CMU-C card
Doctors are accused of adapting their behavior according to the social situation of their patients. An investigation by the Defender of Law, published Monday, April 3, 2017, reveals that many practitioners would use strategies to accommodate fewer patients living in precarious situations, and in particular those who are holders of the CMU-C card (Complementary Universal Health Coverage).
To achieve this, the authors of this report observed several doctors throughout the duration of the study, and noted numerous breaches of Article L. 1110-3 of the Public Health Code which qualifies the illegal nature of these maneuvers : ” no person can be discriminated against in access to prevention or care “.
The Defender of the Law calls for a census of doctors who increase their fees for certain patients
And yet, in fact, many physicians associate these patients with prejudices, including ” suspicion of fraud and overconsumption of healthcare », Reveals the Defender of Rights in a press release. ” Discrimination can take the form of a refusal, isolated refusals, or systematic practice by the firm. They can also be expressed in more insidious ways: systematic reorientation of a patient to another practitioner or to the hospital, abnormally long waiting times, a form of agreement between practitioners not to address beneficiaries of CMU-C, ACS or AME “.
And to make matters worse, doctors are complaining that the consultations of these patients carrying the CMU card are poorly reimbursed by the Health Insurance. To remedy this situation, the Defender of Rights advocates, among other things, a stricter definition of refusal of care by law and a census of practitioners who show excess fees to holders of the CMU-C or ACS card.
Sybille Latour
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