Access to medicare, a major concern for the French people in the turmoil of the current political instability
The current political instability punctuated in particular by the ever-changing Health Ministers since 2022, is causing great concern regarding access to medicare. This situation is disrupting the continuity of public policies and undermining the health system which is already suffering from multiple pressures.
Economic repercussions of the ministerial instability
On the 23rd December, Catherine Vautrin was reappointed Minister of Labour, Health, Solidarities and Families which she already headed in the Attal government. Under her authority, Yannick Neuder was appointed Minister in charge of Health and access to care thus becoming the 7th person to hold the position since 2022. His predecessor, Frédéric Valletoux, deplored the organisation hierarchy which “fails to recognise the importance of such a major subject as health and access to care”.
The instability is not only generating uncertainty for health professionals and the institutions but it also delays decisions. The censure of the previous government for example led to the interruption of several measures which had been included in the 2025 Social Security funding bill, which was not adopted:
• An increase in the funding of Ehpad care homes.
• Additional funds for departments to compensate for the costs of their social service benefits for the aged and handicapped.
• The 100 million euros allocated to palliative care in the context of the additional 1 billion euros over ten years for that service.
Exacerbated structural challenges
Throughout the succession of ministers, the problems remain.
• France is facing a critical shortage of GPs and specialists, which is made worse by the departure of many retiring doctors which the arrival of newly qualified doctors is unable to offset. Certain regions are increasingly short of practitioners, complicating access to care for millions of French people. Faced with long waiting times or the difficulty in obtaining an appointment, many of them give up or defer their treatment, worsening pathologies which could and should have been treated earlier. A&E departments are saturated, and the queues for appointments or operations are ever increasing.
• The inability to confront the challenge of the ageing population and its corollary, dependence, is a burden both for the aged, who are often deprived of proper care, and on the health system itself. The adoption of a law for old age, many times announced then deferred, is essential and requires a long-term vision.
In that context, access to care remains a crucial priority for the French people. Numerous opinion polls have highlighted the fact. The latest survey conducted by IFOP on 6th and 7th January 2025 shows that their main subject of concern is health (83%), above inflation and education.
Such expectations should fully mobilise the government and MPs. Consequently, the return of a text on the end of life appears as a diversion or a subterfuge which is as irresponsible as it is indecent. It is urgent to face up to this crying need for access to care, certainly not by opening the door to euthanasia or to suicide by prescription.
The nationwide campaign planned by Alliance VITA “I need care, not euthanasia”, is a call to join the queue for all those waiting for care and not euthanasia… so that politicians urgently take action to deal with such delays as are illustrated here by two moving witness accounts:
” My great aunt died in Isère, under great pain, from widespread cancer. She should have benefited from palliative care to relieve her suffering, but there were no palliative care beds in the hospital. She was consequently simply sent home with morphine.”
“Following a heart operation I needed physiotherapy sessions. I called 14 physiotherapists. All of them were overbooked, none could take me on! I therefore gave up. This was in Bordeaux in December 2024!”
WE NEED CARE, NOT euthanasia!
