These extended hours medical centers (CHE) operate every day between 9 a.m. and 10 p.m., including weekends and public holidays. Very present in the Marseille region, they play an essential role in offering an alternative to emergency services or regulation by the 15.
« In the Bouches-du-Rhône [45 centres]these structures care for 6,000 patients every day in unscheduled consultations, nearly a quarter of which during night hours and weekends,” underlines Dr Jérémy Chaumoitre.
Walk-in consultations are currently increased by 35 euros after 8 p.m. and 19.06 euros on Sundays and public holidays.
With the application of the new agreement from December 22, the increase will only be 5 euros (evenings, Sundays and public holidays included) compared to a basic consultation during the week at 30 euros.
“We will not hold on to the budget in 2025”
Dr Aurore Baudoin-Haloch
“Without these increases, we will not be able to meet the budget in 2025 because our centers cost much more to operate than traditional practices,” alerts Dr. Aurore Baudoin-Haloche.
The CHEs are notably equipped with small technical platforms which allow the first emergency actions to be carried out, which represents additional costs.
Faced with this imminent danger, the various managers of these centers have been trying since June to alert elected officials and health authorities.
“We have had no news from Health Insurance or the ARS, despite several threats of closure and the risk of overflowing the region’s emergency services,” deplores Dr Antoine Juhel.
“At this stage, we have no other choice but to temporarily close at the end of the year, including during the day, to try one last time to alert people to the seriousness of the situation,” adds Dr Aurore Baudoin-Haloche.
Health Insurance announces that it wants “reset everything and gradually regulate”
If no action is taken quickly by Health Insurance, several CHEs have already announced that they will cease their activity in 2025 after 8 p.m. and on weekends. “However, we will remain open on Saturday afternoons but with exceptional excess fees”, explains Dr Antoine Juhel, head of several centers on the Côte Bleue.
Dr Aurore Baudoin-Haloche, who manages a center in the 7th arrondissement of Marseille, however hopes to remain open for another six months in 2025 on evenings and weekends, provided that she can implement fee overruns.
Asked by What’s Up Doc, Health Insurance ensures that the new prices will make it possible to “reset everything and gradually regulate” all unscheduled treatments in the evenings and weekends.
https://www.whatsupdoc-lemag.fr/article/dans-les-bouches-du-rhone-300-medecins-menacent-de-ne-plus-travailler-les-soirs-et-week
But this change will not happen in a manner “brutal”. “There will be no controls and closures overnight,” even if there is “sometimes there were billing and surcharge abuses”, concludes the Cnam.
