a “warning shot” to “save” the profession

“A warning shot”, even the fight for “the last chance to save medicine in the field”: thousands of liberal doctors and biologists closed practices and laboratories on Thursday and Friday, some to demand price increases, others to protest against a drain on their profits. “I do replacements all over the place, and that doesn’t make me want to settle down”, testifies Julien Rogowski, 30, general practitioner in Alsace. Arnaud Saada, 39, living in Essonne, laments: “I refuse a dozen patients a day, it’s abominable”.

Doubling the consultation fee

This “historic movement” was initiated by the young collective “Doctors for Tomorrow”, which in a few weeks gathered nearly 15,000 members on Facebook, a symptom of an anger that is spreading among the 110,000 liberal practitioners in practice. With the demand for the doubling of the price of the consultation (from 25 to 50 euros), this group has rallied the unions to its cause. They see it as a way to influence the open negotiations with Health Insurance for a new agreement for the next five years.

The pressure also passes through the street, with rallies organized in the big cities. In Toulouse, as in Rennes and Marseille, around 200 people gathered. In Nantes, they were 450, while in Corsica a third of the 300 liberal doctors of the island had declared themselves strikers. In Paris, the white coats were “a good thousand”, according to the organizers, in front of the Ministry of Health. At the microphone, the president of the FMF union, Corinne Le Sauder, affirmed that “giving means to liberal medicine is also saving the hospital”.

“Fifty euros may seem completely crazy, but it is a point on the horizon to approach the European average” of the consultation rate, around 45 euros, argues Jérôme Marty, from the UFML union, advancing “ 75% to 80%” of practices closed, when the Doctors for Tomorrow collective lists “more than 10,000”.

“Meeting the expectations of the population”

Figures to “take with hindsight”, relativizes Thomas Fatôme, who awaits reimbursement data “at the very beginning of next week” to “measure the reality of the movement”. The boss of Health Insurance, however, tells AFP “to take seriously” the expectations of doctors, both “on their working conditions” and in terms of remuneration.

But if he intends to “propose upgrades” as part of the negotiations, he also wants to “meet the expectations of the population” in terms of access to care. However, doubling the consultation to 50 euros would cost Social Security 7 billion euros, whereas with the various flat rates paid to practitioners, they already receive 35 euros on average per procedure. “If we are not heard, we will call for a hard and unlimited strike from December 26”, already warns Doctors for tomorrow.

“Nothing is taboo”

“The door is far from closed”, reacted the Minister of Health, François Braun, assuring that “nothing is taboo” about tariffs, “as soon as there are commitments” opposite for “that each of our fellow citizens can have a doctor, in particular the most fragile” and in order “to ensure the permanence of care” evenings and weekends.

Doctors are not alone in this movement. Pointed out for their record profits linked to Covid-19 tests, the analysis laboratories refuse them the puncture of 250 million euros per year included in the Social Security budget. “This planing will lead to the closure of local laboratories”, alarmed François Blanchecotte (Biologists’ Union), on behalf of a profession which employs 52,000 employees and could lose 400 of its 4,200 sites according to him.