The coronavirus epidemic crisis has once again highlighted the poor salary conditions of French healthcare providers, compared to those of OECD countries. Minister of Health Olivier Véran announced a plan for the hospital on Sunday, including an increase in the income of nurses. But obviously the question of financing arises, and some people already fear that this will involve a tax increase. "If you want to upgrade the salary of nurses overnight [...] we must find five billion euros," said Frédéric Bizard, professor of economics and president of the Institute of Health, Monday on Europe 1.
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Discard the tax assumption
For François Ecalle, founder of an information site on public finances and former magistrate of the Court of Auditors, also a guest of Europe 1, there is no question of considering a new tax. "I think it would be very bad for the economy," he said. By discouraging investment, the tax could precipitate an economic and social crisis. "In the coming years, France cannot raise its taxes!"
The use of zero-rate loans
Frédéric Bizard and François Ecalle both present debt as the best solution. "We belong to the euro zone", poses the former magistrate. "Today France can finance itself at almost zero rates almost as easily as Germany." According to him, unlike Italy, France has enough budgetary guarantees to benefit from very advantageous rates. Since debt is not infinitely possible, it will nevertheless be necessary to "regain control" at some point.
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A necessary restructuring of the hospital?
But if he considers the salary demands of caregivers "justified", Frédéric Bizard doubts that they can be achieved without "changing the entire organization of the hospital": "Responding [to the nurses' requests] in a rush, putting forward first the need to review wages without prioritizing global restructuring is extremely dangerous. "
François Ecalle agrees in this direction by designating the many potential "productivity gains". "It is common knowledge that in the hospital, a large part of the medical procedures that are done are of absolutely no use!"
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Still, in terms of remuneration of nurses, France is one of the bad students, as shown by a ranking published by the newspaper Les Echos . A French caregiver earns an average of 39,200 euros [42,400 dollars] per year, the 23rd rank in the OECD countries below the average and very far from the 100,700 euros on average for a Luxembourg caregiver.