French healthcare reforms approved

France's parliament gave final approval yesterday to measures to slash the debt burden in its costly health system, a key plank in President Jacques Chirac's reform drive.

The reform bill, which includes a controversial charge for seeing a doctor and a rise in welfare levies, was adopted as expected by the upper and lower houses of parliament, both dominated by Mr Chirac's ruling Conservatives.

The simple 'show of hands' vote put an end to months of hard bargaining over the health care revamp which triggered protests last month.

"This structural reform was necessary... and it is fair," said Health Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy, a former doctor, rejecting criticism that it will hit the poor hardest.

But left-wing deputy Jean-Pierre Brard said the reform was aimed at dismantling the health insurance system. "This bill marks one of the darkest pages of our social history," he added. Lawmakers also gave final approval to a law handing more powers to French regions.

The raft of measures approved yesterday, the last day of the parliamentary session, marked the end of a tough term for Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, battered in the polls but boosted by signs of a steadily improving economy.

Finance Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said growth could top 2.5 per cent this year, although unemployment's rise to 9.9 per cent last month dampened optimism of a more robust economic recovery.

France's €11-billion annual healthcare shortfall is part of an overall public deficit which Paris has pledged to bring back within an agreed European Union limit of three per cent of gross domestic product by 2005. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets last month to protest at the healthcare reform.

But trade unions ultimately failed to mount the concerted wave of protests and industrial action some had threatened.

The reform is aimed at raising €5 billion a year in new taxes and seeks annual cost savings of another €10 billion. The government says the reform is needed to safeguard a health system founded in 1945 and renowned for its high quality care.

Yet doubt remains over whether the plan is enough. To the government's embarrassment, a leaked finance ministry memo last month suggested a target of wiping out the healthcare deficit by 2007 would be missed by €7 billion.

Mr Douste-Blazy has defended the reform, whose success will depend on its ability to force habit changes in the French, widely regarded as the pill-popping champions of Europe.

French general practitioners each prescribe on average €260,000 worth of drugs a year. The French consume three times as many antibiotics as their German neighbours, and more than twice as many anti-cholesterol drugs as the British.

Under the French system, patients pay for treatment and are reimbursed by statutory health insurance funds depending on the doctor and the type of treatment selected.

The reform will tweak the reimbursement system to reward patients who use general practitioners rather than going straight to more expensive specialists, and to encourage patients to choose generic drugs over more expensive branded varieties.