French cap health spending growth at 1.3%
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The French government has set the growth limit for medical spending at 1.3% for 1997, down from 2.1% in 1996. The government has termed the limit a "target rate", in part to placate doctors who are opposed to fixed levels of medical spending. Doctors will be punished if the 1.3% is exceeded, but will only be forced to pay back 5% of the value of any overspending on tests and prescribed drugs rather than the 20% initially proposed.