Patients are back in medical offices, faster than expected. After two months of slump, the insurance broker Gerep observes a recovery in the consumption of care, which has almost returned to normal, especially in dentistry and optics.
The “change in trend” may have been expected, but it “turns out to be faster than expected”: after a 70% drop during the eight weeks of confinement (compared to the same period in 2019), healthcare reimbursements have declined just 6% in the last three weeks of May, according to the brokerage. From its sample of 60,000 policyholders and beneficiaries (mainly business contracts), Gerep even observes a “marked catch-up effect” in optics, rising from -92% during confinement to -6% since May 11, with a jump of 89% in the last week of May.
An overall decline of 30%
The dental sector also "almost caught up with its pre-crisis level", with a drop of 15% at the end of May, against 93% the two previous months. The overall consumption of care (medical consultations and medicines included) has nevertheless been in “sharp decline” since the beginning of the year, of the order of 30% or about 1.5 billion euros in expenditure less - at this stadium - for complementary corporate health, Damien Vieillard-Baron, president of Gerep, told AFP.
But the revenues are also reduced: 10% of contributions were not collected in the first quarter, or 750 million euros, of which “we can think that half will be paid and the other will be lost”, he said. he adds.
A probable loss which will be added to that, certain, due to partial unemployment. This compensation equivalent to 70% of gross salary used as a basis for calculating contributions, Gerep estimates the shortfall at 400 million euros just for March and April.
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