Liberal doctors set their new rates this Monday

New attempt at dialogue. Two months after the failure of talks with the insurance company, the liberal doctors’ unions scheduled a meeting on Monday with Annick Morel, a senior official appointed by the ‘arbitration’ case, who could see an increase in consultations.

This former social affairs inspector will deliver his verdict at 11 a.m. to six unions representing liberal doctors, several of whose officials announced the meeting in a press release or via social media. They are already pessimistic about the outcome of the discussions.

These unions bloc rejected the Health Insurance offer at the end of February, despite allocating 1.5 billion euros a year in the long run to improve consultation. Physicians have therefore waived a general unconditional increase of €1.50, which would have markedly increased the base price of general practitioners to €26.50 – for a total cost of €600 million for the full year.

Required minimum 30 euros

Too little for the unions, which demanded at least 30 euros and prepared for a “territorial obligation pact”, a measure that provides for a second price tier for medical practitioners who accept certain contractors: admitting more patients, working the night shift, exercising in the medical desert or even work on Saturday mornings.

The lack of consent also led to the cancellation of other measures in favor of paramedics, “unscheduled care” (without appointment) and attending physicians, the government’s stated priorities. However, they could be found in the “arbitration rules” developed by Annick Morel, which are ultimately subject to the approval of the Minister of Health, François Braun.

But the executive branch as a whole intends to be less generous than the Social Security Service in order to push doctors to resume discussions. “We are all interested in changing something,” the minister’s entourage explained at the end of February after the failure of negotiations.