France raises annual copayment cap to €200, freezes individual amounts
France doubles annual copayment cap to €200 to fund hospital investments.
Event / Health
France Medical Copayment Cap Increase
France's health minister announced that the annual cap on medical copayments will double from €100 to €200, the first increase in 20 years. Individual copayment amounts remain frozen, but patients will reach the maximum threshold sooner. The measure will be implemented via decree, possibly starting summer 2026. Approximately 18 million French citizens remain exempt from copayments.
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2026-08-15 to 2026-11-12 · UTC publication dates
Coverage begins 23 Jul, 12:16 UTC
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What happened
France freezes copayment amounts while increasing annual caps
The individual copayment amounts themselves remain frozen at their current levels. Patients pay €2 per medical consultation or act, capped at €8 per day and €50 per year. For medications, patients pay €1 per box with a current annual cap of €50. Only the annual caps are being doubled, not the per-visit amounts.
French government justifies copayment increase as hospital investment
Health Minister Stéphanie Rist justified the copayment cap increase as necessary to continue investing in France's hospital system, ensure access to care, and maintain access to the most effective medications.
France doubles annual cap on medical copayments from €100 to €200
French Health Minister Stéphanie Rist announced that the annual cap on medical copayments will double from €100 to €200. This cap represents the maximum amount patients must pay out-of-pocket annually for consultations and medications. The cap had remained unchanged for 20 years. A decree was being prepared to implement the measure, potentially starting in summer 2026.
18 million French citizens exempt from medical copayments
Pregnant women, minors, and approximately 18 million French citizens in total are not subject to medical copayments and franchises, and therefore are not affected by the announced cap increase.
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