French 1st-qtr health spending up 2.8%

Figures for first-quarter 2006 health spending in France published by the health fund organization CNAM show a 2.8% increase. This is being seen as a moderate improvement, although the spending trend is above the target growth level set under year 2006 legislation. In the year to the end of March, health spending rose 4.2% compared with 3.9% in the 12 months to February.

General practice medical spending, which excludes the hospitals and clinics, went up only 1.6% in the reporting quarter though this compares with a government target of 0.9% growth. Medical fees rose 0.5%, while other costs have fallen over 2%.

Spending on prescriptions increased 3.1% in the first three months of 2006, a distinct reduction on the 5% reported in the same period of 2005. The decline is due mainly to the lowering of prices for a number of drugs introduced in the first quarter, as well as to the increase in the volume of generic drugs delivered by pharmacies. The level of generics substitution, when a generic could replace a prescribed original drug, went up from 61.6% in December 2005 to 66.4% in March this year. Spending on health care remains a subject of concern in the Ministry of Health, which wants to see expenditure on prescriptions fall 3.3% this year.