Under strong pressure to reduce the public health deficit, the French Government increased flat co-payments and medical deductibles for patients in March 2024. The deductibles were doubled: from €0.50 to €1 per box of reimbursed medicines and per paramedical act; from €1 to €2 for medical consultations, procedures and laboratory tests; and from €2 to €4 for medical transport. These deductibles cannot be covered by complementary health insurance (CHI). However, there is an annual cap on these user charges which remained at €50 per person. Moreover, patients under 18, pregnant women, and beneficiaries of the complementary health insurance scheme for individuals with low income or state medical aid for undocumented migrants remained legally exempt from these charges.
As part of preliminary budget discussions for 2026, the government proposed in October 2025 a second round of increases, doubling the fixed payment for boxes of reimbursed medicines to €2, medical transport to €8, and medical consultations to €4, with a higher annual ceiling. However, both patient and health professional organizations, as well as the board of the National health insurance fund, strongly opposed this proposition, arguing that this would disproportionately affect people with chronic conditions and low-income households, and that it could lead to delayed or forgone care.
Following fierce public and political opposition, the government abandoned the planned increase in early December 2025. As a result, alternative sources of funding proposed by the government include a temporary contribution from CHI providers and an increase in earmarked tax adjustments.