France to Raise Medical Co-Payment Cap by 40% in October
- France will raise the annual medical co-payment cap from €100 to €140 — a 40% increase — via executive decree from 1 October, having abandoned an earlier plan to double it.
- The Health Ministry estimates the average additional cost at roughly €10 per year for most insured people, or €2 per month for those with long-term conditions.
- The government cites a projected €20bn social security deficit in 2026 and inflation since 2005 to justify the rise; 18 million exempt citizens, including those on low-income
France's government has confirmed it will raise the annual cap on medical co-payments — known as franchises médicales — from €100 to €140, a 40 per cent increase set to take effect on 1 October, according to a draft decree. The move marks a significant retreat from an initial plan, floated in July, to double the existing cap entirely.
A revised proposal, delivered by decree
Health Minister Stéphanie Rist said the government had reconsidered its original position following internal discussions. "We proposed in July to double this franchise cap, but after discussions we revised our position and decided to propose a decree that will raise the cap to a lower level, corresponding to indexation against inflation," she said. The government is proceeding by decree rather than seeking a vote in the National Assembly. Rist justified this approach by pointing to a social security deficit estimated at €20 billion in 2026, a shortfall she warned could worsen in light of the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.
What insured people will pay
According to the Health Ministry's own calculations, the average additional cost to insured individuals who currently pay these charges will be approximately €10 per year — or less than €1 per month. For patients with long-term conditions, who typically benefit from a greater number of consultations and reimbursed medicines, the estimated average impact is higher, at around €2 per month. The ministry notes that the current average annual cost per insured person stands at €25 for consultation co-payments and €27 for charges on medicines, paramedical acts, and medical transport.
The revised cap of €140 is to be split equally: €70 for medical consultations and €70 covering medicines, paramedical acts, and patient transport. The government argues this level corresponds precisely to inflation-adjusted uprating since 2005, the year in which the current €100 ceiling was last set. "Wages and prices have risen; we are therefore proposing to increase this cap, which had not moved since 2005," Rist said.
Exemptions preserved; unions oppose any rise
The government has confirmed that the estimated 18 million French citizens currently exempt from these charges will retain that status. Those exempt include minors, pregnant women, and recipients of the Complémentaire santé solidaire (C2S), the subsidised complementary health cover scheme for lower-income households. The CGT trade union has nonetheless called on the government to abandon any increase altogether, arguing that no rise is acceptable.
The decision to act by executive decree — bypassing parliamentary debate — underscores both the urgency ministers attach to reining in social security finances and the political sensitivity of any measure that raises the cost of healthcare for French households, however incrementally.
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