France's Health Minister says "No" to QALYs

France's Health Minister, Roselyne Bachelot, has ruled out the adoption of the UK's National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) drug reimbursement model by the French health spending watchdog, the HAS. The latter's role has been expanded, with a more selective reimbursement in the future. Mrs Bachelot told the Parliament: "I am not in favor of integrating, as exemplified by the NICE, the notion of quality-adjusted life-years into the indicators of medical efficacy. That does not accord with the culture from which the HAS must be inspired."