“Rabbit tax” of 5 euros: the government faces a “technical challenge”

“This is primarily a PR effect! » UFML President Dr. Jerome Marty is still trying to understand in practice how the government’s desired “rabbit tax” will work. On Saturday, Gabriel Attal said he wants to charge 5 euros if a doctor’s appointment is not made. The amount will be fully passed on to the concerned medical practitioner.

Specifically, how to do this? In particular, using the bank details provided at the time of booking, the two ministers responsible for health (the Minister for Surveillance and the Minister Delegate) who were present on the morning radio broadcast responded this Monday to provide “after-sales service” to the announcements of the head of government.

“Huge barrier to access to health care”

“Similar practices are already common in other sectors that have decided to have a banking trail in order to avoid losses and make their clients more responsible,” said Stéphane Pardoux, director general of the National Agency for the Support of Health and Medical Social Institutions. NAP).

Booking platforms such as Doctolib already require patients booking an appointment online to provide their bank details… but only for teleconsultations. Technically, they could do this for all appointments because “this is the system that exists and that works,” according to the Ministry of Health.

But do they want it or are they at least ready for it? Doctolib said it was willing to work with the government on the issue, “which deserves attention.” But, according to the site, “mandatory banking presence will be a huge barrier to access to health care.” Obviously, patients will be more reluctant to make an appointment. Not to mention those who don’t have a credit card.

Beyond the platform “we are thinking about other tools”

What about doctors who are not registered on the platform? “That’s most of it,” says Margot Bayart, vice-president of MG France, for whom “this story of unfulfilled appointments is far from the main problem.” According to a study by the Ministry of Health, in 2022, 64% of general practitioners did not use Doctolib, Mayia or even Keldoc.

Asking for bank details “will be a big challenge for them because they are overloaded, especially since they don’t always have a secretary,” estimates Jérôme Marty. In his opinion, “the most obvious solution would be for health insurance to deduct this amount from the patient’s next appointment.”

Gabriel Attal, who aims for entry into force on January 1, 2025, himself admits to a “technical problem.” “For healthcare workers who do not use the online platform, we are considering other tools” other than bank imprints, the Ministry of Health was told without further details this Monday. Even if technical solutions were found, the decision to charge the rabbit or not was left to the practitioner.