The Health Systems in Transition – HIT profiles describe the functioning of health systems primarily in the European region of the World Health Organization (WHO). They provide an overview of the health system and the reforms underway in each country. Being a major reference for public decision-makers, health professionals and researchers, they are regularly updated and published by the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies . The last HIT for France dates from 2015. This 2023 edition, led by Irdes , provides a detailed analysis of the French health system highlighting recent reforms and challenges.
France has one of the highest life expectancies at birth in the world – 82.5 years in 2021 -, despite the negative impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Financial accessibility to care is generally high. Out-of-pocket costs and catastrophic healthcare costs are among the lowest in the European Union. However, there are significant geographical inequalities in access to care related to the unequal distribution of health professionals in the country. In addition, there are significant inequalities in health outcomes between regions, socio-economic classes and gender.
As with many other healthcare systems in Europe, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought to light certain structural weaknesses in the French healthcare system, but it has also offered opportunities to improve its sustainability. These changes are based in particular on the desire to strengthen decision-making at the local level by involving health professionals, and to find new methods of financing to encourage the coordination and integration of care. Upcoming reforms aim to improve access to care and prevention, to invest in new health skills, as well as to pursue the reform of primary care and the financing of professionals in order to improve equity, quality and appropriateness of care.
To know more https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/publications/i/france-health-system-review-2023
