It’s a well-established ritual, a kind of unmissable meeting. Each year, the Health Insurance presents its copy to its board of directors. The subject does not change: how to rationalize expenditure without rationing care. If the ingredients are always the same – early discharge from the hospital, prescription of generics, hunting for waste – a few variations come to spice up the dish.
In 2015, the objective is to save 3 billion euros out of three, in particular by putting order in the transport of patients. Between ambulances and taxis, notes Matthieu Pelloli in The Parisian, the annual bill amounts to 4 billion euros. It would have practically doubled in ten years, according to a parliamentary report. Its author, Pierre Morange, Republican deputy for Yvelines, is not angry: “When, in hospitals, I see secretaries who sign travel vouchers, it is not admissible”, he insists in the columns of the daily.
Clearly, the use of medical transport must correspond to a precise medical indication, be the subject of a prescription by the doctor and not, as summarized by Pierre Morange, “to avoid patients having to pay for parking!” »
And that’s not all. The abuse is coupled with an expensive scheme for the public purse. “The explosion of the bill (…) is mainly explained by the increased use of taxis approved by the Primary Health Insurance Funds (CPAM) for the transport of patients”, notes the journalist. In this case, the race costs 25% more than a light medical vehicle (48 euros against 31 euros in VSL).
So VSL companies sniffed out a good deal by expanding their transport offer with taxis. “A misappropriation of public funds”, denounces Pierre Morange.
To put an end to it, the Health Insurance proposes to align the prices of VSL and taxis. With the key, a saving of 547 million euros over three years. Waiting for the taxis Uber invest in this market, it will be interesting to see how patient transport professionals will react to this proposal.