Informing the patient about health care costs and expenses

Verified 29 January 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Are you going to see a healthcare professional? Know that you have a right to be informed free of charge about the prices of consultations and medical procedures. This right also applies to the payment of your health expenses. This obligation is imposed on healthcare professionals and to health facilities (hospitals or clinics). It is reflected in particular by the display of these tariffs in the waiting room. We'll lay out the rules for you.

Professional

This obligation applies to the following healthcare professionals:

  • Doctors
  • Dental surgeons
  • Midwives
  • Nurses
  • Physical therapists and podiatrists
  • Occupational therapists, psychomotor therapists
  • Speech therapists, speech therapists
  • Medical electroradiology manipulators
  • Audioprosthetists, opticians, eyewear, prosthetists and orthotists
  • Dietitians

More generally, this obligation to provide information concerns prevention, diagnosis and care activities.

As soon as you see a health care practitioner, they tell you the following amounts:

  • Consultation rates, including any amount of fee overruns
  • Amount of the actions he will perform for you (blood tests, placement of a dental implant, home care, glasses...).

He/she informs you of the arrangements for taking over by your health insurance organization.

A doctor must respond to any request for prior information and explanations of his fees or the cost of treatment.

The health care practitioner delivers this information by posting it in the waiting room.

In addition, a pre-quote is presented to you beyond a certain amount.

The practitioner must also clearly indicate whether he is practicing sector 1 or sector 2.

Under certain conditions, health professionals are allowed to charge extra fees, i.e. to charge more than the rates set by the Social Security.

This is the case, for example, in the following cases:

To determine the amount of overpayment, the practitioner must be tactful and measured. The patient's financial situation, the practitioner's reputation, the complexity of the procedure and the time required for its execution must be taken into account.

FYI  

If you have complementary health solidarity, you may not be charged for any fee overruns. However, you still have to pay a fee overrun in case of special requests (examples: consultations outside normal hours or unjustified home visits).

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Equal to or greater than €70

If the fees (including excess fees) are at least €70, the practitioner must provide you with written information indicating the prices of the acts and exceedances.

This information must be given to the patient before the procedures are carried out.

Less than €70

If the fees (including overage) are less than €70 or if the act is to be performed at a future sitting, the practitioner remains subject to the obligation to provide information on the amounts and conditions for taking over the acts.

No particular method of payment (credit card, cash, etc.) can be imposed on you.

Compliance with the obligation to provide information on costs and to cover health costs is monitored by the Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF).

In case of dispute, refer to DGCCRF.

Establishment

The provision of this information concerns both public and private health institutions.

Public health facilities
  • University Regional Hospital Centers (CHRU)
  • Hospital centers (CH)
  • Specialized psychiatric hospitals
  • Army Training Hospitals (HIA)
Private health facilities

These include:

  • Private, not-for-profit health facilities
  • Cancer Centers
  • For-profit institutions (clinics)

For any care taken by a health institution (public or private), you receive, at the time of your discharge, a document informing you of the cost of all the benefits received.

This document specifies the following:

  • Share covered by the Health Insurance
  • The remaining portion that you must pay (which can be handled by your mutual).

FYI  

Care provided in health facilities may not be subject to overcharging.

The information shall be delivered in the following ways:

  • Display in waiting rooms
  • Public communication websites.
    In the latter case, the information posted online can be found on the website of the National Health Insurance Fund (Cnam).

Please note

Teleconsultation businesses deliver the information by posting it on the websites.

This information is also sent to you before the teleconsultation.

No particular method of payment (bank card, cash, etc.) may be imposed on patients.

In the event of a dispute, you can inquire about your rights at the DGCCRF.

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region

  • Health Info Rights

    A telephone line created by a collective of user associations to provide legal or social information related to health

    By telephone

    01 53 62 40 30

    Price of a local call

    Open Service:

    • mondays, wednesdays and fridays from 2pm to 6pm
    • tuesdays and thursdays from 2pm to 8pm

    By Form

    You can also ask your question by completing the contact form ;

    From this form, you can request to be called back.

  • Primary health insurance fund (CPAM)