France’s Health Insurance System Faces Urgent Reforms as Costs and Deficits Surge

The Cour des comptes calls for enhanced fraud detection and spending controls to address unsustainable health expenditures projected to reach €265.4 billion in 2025.

Health insurance spending in France has grown by 4.8% annually since 2019, reaching 8.9% of GDP in 2025, up from 8.2% pre-Covid.
The Cour des comptes warns of worsening deficits in social security branches, projected to nearly double from €11.8 billion in 2024 to €20.1 billion in 2028.
Fraud detection measures remain insufficient, with only €628 million in fraud detected in 2024 compared to estimated losses of up to €4.5 billion annually.
To address these challenges, the Cour des comptes recommends increasing resources, legal authority, and IT capabilities for health insurance funds.
Systematic controls and the suspension of payments in cases of doubt are among proposed measures to curb rising costs and improve efficiency.