“No to the quiet dismantling of state medical aid”

2024-05-11 09:00:14

Until now, thanks to the mobilization of civil society and caregivers, State medical aid (AME) has escaped its transformation into emergency medical aid (AMU), which effectively amounted to the abolition of device. But at the end of January, Gabriel Attal announced during his general policy speech a reform of the system before the summer, by regulation.

Here we are. In the coming weeks, the ministerial decisions should be made and the decree published. Behind the government’s muted language elements, used in particular by the delegate minister responsible for health and prevention, Frédéric Valletoux, concerning a simple “adjustment of the operation of the AME” (France Info on April 8), there are worrying avenues of restrictions hidden.

Our organizations are sounding the alarm once morest anything that might resemble a quiet dismantling of the system. Given the consequences on access to care for the most vulnerable and public health, we call for the project to be abandoned.

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The AME allows access to prevention and care for foreign people in an irregular administrative situation, a particularly fragile population in health and social terms. The possible restrictions envisaged at this stage by the government would considerably compromise access and the scope of this system.

Already restrictive conditions

Conditioning access to the system on the spouse’s resources, contrary to the reform of the disabled adult allowance (AAH) which came into force in October 2023, would drastically modify the calculation of resources.

Today, the conditions for benefiting from the AME are already restrictive: the system is not accessible to people in an irregular situation who have resources greater than 847 euros per month, including many workers who contribute and yet see themselves deprived of health coverage.

The new calculation of resources would result in a complete withdrawal from all health coverage of an undocumented person in a relationship with a French or foreign spouse in a regular situation, whose cumulative monthly resources would exceed the threshold of 1,271 euros. This would also lead to increased situations of marital control and dependence suffered by foreign women in an irregular situation, which might lead them to be more exposed to domestic, intra-family, sexist and sexual violence.

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In addition, limiting proof of identity documents to photo documents only, and excluding association certificates, would also be an insurmountable administrative obstacle for many people. Many have had to leave their country without identification, especially the youngest, have lost their papers, had them stolen, or are victims of confiscation of their document or blackmail with their papers. Depriving these people of access to AME would worsen their state of health, and ultimately weigh on already overloaded emergency services and hospital debts.

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