2023-12-21 18:28:10
Published on Dec 21 2023 at 7:11 p.m.Updated Dec 21 2023 at 7:28 p.m.
The announced strengthening of controls on sick leave was short-lived. This Thursday, the Constitutional Council censored a measure planned by the government to reduce unjustified work stoppages.
The provision contained in the draft Social Security budget for 2024 wanted to make checks on work stoppages by employers more effective. More precisely, it was a question of automatically suspending the payment of daily allowances by Social Security in cases where a doctor commissioned by a company concludes that an interruption is unjustified.
Little-used counter-visits
An employer can already ask a doctor to make a home visit to verify that his employee really needs to stop working. If the doctor judges that there is abuse, he must send his report to the Health Insurance medical control service, which can then decide to suspend daily allowances.
Worried regarding the soaring bill for work stoppages for Social Security, the executive wanted to make this system more operational by suspending compensation following a counter-inspection concluding that there had been abuse, without additional advice from the social security medical control service. ‘Health Insurance.
A little-used device
However, for the Constitutional Council, the measure would amount to depriving an insured person of compensation “even though his physical incapacity to continue or return to work has been noted by a doctor”. However, any person incapable of working “because of their physical or mental state” has the “right to obtain from the community suitable means of existence”.
This analysis thwarts the executive’s plans. However, the counter-inspection system by the employer is little used. In 2019, 2,300 files of this type were received by Health Insurance. What’s more, doctors appear reluctant to monitor their colleagues’ sick leave. Even more so at a time when there is a shortage of doctors. They also believe that the increase in sick leave reflects above all a deterioration in the state of health of the French.
Supply disruptions
The Wise Men, however, did not censor the provision aimed at limiting the duration of work stoppages prescribed by teleconsultation to three days. A similar measure had already been proposed in the budget adopted last year to avoid abuse. The Constitutional Council had rejected it. This time, he gave the green light to a system providing for several exceptions.
On the other hand, no more plans to limit or prohibit the prescription of certain medications by teleconsultation “in the event of a supply disruption”. Intended to complement the arsenal of public authorities to respond to recurring problems of drug shortages, this measure risks “depriving a patient of the possibility of being prescribed a drug necessary for their state of health for the sole reason that they have consulted a doctor remotely,” explains the Constitutional Council.
Increase in deductibles
Finally, he rejected an article in the budget providing for the executive to consult parliamentarians before increasing deductibles on medicines and consultations. This provision was intended to appease parliamentarians but is “contrary to the principle of the separation of powers”, according to the Sages.
During the budgetary discussion, elected officials repeatedly criticized the government for announcing savings on health spending without accepting the fact that they would come in particular from a doubling of the deductibles billed to patients for each visit to the doctor ( 1 euro) or on each box of medicine obtained (50 cents).
By lifting the obligation to inform parliamentarians, the Constitutional Council opens the way to a potentially more rapid formalization of this increase in deductibles.
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