Paris – Biologists are still threatening to strike in December to protest their price reduction. A protest movement which could be joined by radiologists and private doctors.
Unsurprisingly, the austerity budget (some would say quite relative) presented by the government as part of the Social Security financing bill (PLFSS) of 2025 is causing some discontent. One article in particular in the draft budget arouses the indignation of part of the health world: article 15.
This provision provides for asking conventional players to agree on a price reduction of 300 million euros (over the period 2025-2027) in the field of medical biology and imaging by June 30, 2025. If no agreement is obtained by this date, this price reduction will be decided unilaterally by the executive. Last Friday, senators adopted a government amendment extending this system to the transport sectors.
An unacceptable situation for those mainly concerned. In a joint press release, the National Federation of Private Ambulance Workers, the National Federation of Radiologists and two biologists’ unions (SDBIO and Medical Biologists) protested against the senators’ vote. “ The three professions subscribe to the need to better control the evolution of health expenditure, but this control, to be sustainable, can only be achieved through improving the relevance of requests for biological, radiological and medical transport of patients »write the three unions. According to them, unilaterally pronouncing a reduction in prices “ would seriously undermine the quality of conventional dialogue ».
Medical biologists threaten laboratory shutdown in December
For the unions of medical biologists in particular, the adoption of article 15 of the PLFSS constitutes in some ways the final blow given to their profession. It would in fact come after three price reductions decided unilaterally by the CNAM, of 7% in 2023, of 4% on 1is last January and 9.4% last September.
Drops in income which, according to the unions, are becoming unsustainable and should lead more than a quarter of laboratories to generate a margin of less than 5% in 2025, preventing any investment.
On October 28, the main medical biology unions, in response to these price reductions, threatened to cease all activity in the laboratories as of December 23. According to them, it is not a question of a strike, but of a necessity, since on this date, “ the envelope allocated to us to carry out the examinations would have dried up » explained Dr Jean-Claude Azoulay, president of the national union of medical biologists (SNMB).
An argument denounced by Health Insurance which recalls that there is not, strictly speaking, an envelope allocated to medical biology and that “ all examinations and analyzes carried out by policyholders will be covered under the usual conditions by Health Insurance throughout 2024 and beyond ».
Doctors for Tomorrow remembers us
But in this month of December which promises to be particularly politically tense (there is more and more talk of possible government censorship), biologists could well soon be joined in their fight. This Sunday, the “Doctors for Tomorrow” association called on liberal doctors to mobilize for a “black December”.
The group made itself known two years ago by initiating a protest movement in favor of an increase in the consultation price to 50 euros. From now on, their sources of discontent are multiple: Barnier decree of October 30 which reinforces the obligation to justify prescriptions, proposed law aimed at eliminating freedom of installation, increase in user fees, etc.
« Community medicine is a profession in danger: every day, coercive measures multiply, with the risk of worsening access to care that is already degraded and medical practice is muzzled by current political decisions weakening the attractiveness of the profession and the commitment of doctors to their patients » summarizes the association in its press release.
She therefore calls on doctors to wear a black armband and to post a protest poster in their offices to alert their patients to the “ dismantling » of liberal medicine.
While hospital staff are also called to strike (see our other article of the day on this subject) and liberal nurses are also demanding an increase in their rates, it is a socially tense month of December that is taking place. announcement in the world of health.
