Historic Mobilization: Why Your Health is at Risk (January 5-14, 2026)
The Aravis Medical Center (Argonay, Faverges, Rumilly) and Annecy Laser Vision are joining the national indefinite strike starting on this 5th January 2026. This movement is not merely a tariff claim; it is an alarm call for the survival of liberal medicine as you know it. Facing the Social Security Financing Bill (PLFSS) 2026, the future of access to care in Haute-Savoie is at stake. We are not striking against you, but for you.
Beyond the Stereotypes: The Economic Reality of Your Health
1. The Paradox of Mutual Insurance Companies and the Stagnation of Fees
We often argue that the cost of healthcare is unfairly high for doctors. However, let’s look at the numbers: while consultation fees in Sector 1 have remained almost unchanged for years despite inflation, your health insurance contributions are soaring (+8% on average). Where is your money going?The administrative costs of health insurance companies consume20 to 22% of your contributions on administrative and operating costs, compared to less than 4% for the social security system. In comparison to other European countries, France is lagging behind. To understand this difference in valuation, we invite you to consult our detailed analysis: 👉 Understanding the issue: PLFSS 2026 and healthcare in danger
2. Organised asphyxia: ONDAM and end of dialogue
The healthcare spending target (ONDAM) was set well below actual inflation and the natural growth in healthcare needs. This shortfall has immediate consequences: clinics and care centres will have to select profitable procedures to stay open. An example from our own centre: We continue to offer complex procedures such as corneal transplantation, performed by Dr Baudin, because our overall activity makes it possible, even though these procedures run at a loss or only just break even for our centre and the Argonay clinic. If budgets tighten further, private providers may give these specialist procedures lower priority or discontinue them. Article 24 also puts an end to dialogue: the director of the national health insurance fund (CNAM) now has the final say in setting fees unilaterally, ending negotiations between the parties under the national agreement.
3. The threat to local access (Faverges, Rumilly) and access to healthcare
This economic pressure directly threatens our territorial network. To limit operating costs and personnel, the accounting logic would require us to concentrate all activity at the main Argonay office and to close our branches in Faverges and Rumilly. We refuse this: we advocate for local healthcare, not factory-based healthcare. However, if the structures are no longer viable, centralization will be inevitable.
4. The injustice of Sector 3 and brain drain
The proposed law introduces an incomprehensible discrimination: tomorrow, prescriptions (medications, nursing care) from a French out-of-hospital doctor (Sector 3) will no longer be reimbursed to their patients. . The ultimate absurdity: if you consult a foreign doctor (in Germany or Spain), their prescriptions will be covered by France! . This stigmatization, coupled with a loss of professional meaning, discourages young doctors from establishing practices. We are already seeing departures to neighboring Switzerland, where the working conditions are more favorable. .
5. No to administrative policing (DMP)
Finally, we oppose the coercive obligation linked to the Shared Medical Record (DMP). Presented as a progress, it becomes a time-consuming administrative constraint aimed at “tracking” doctors’ activity rather than treating patients . We are concerned about the intention, in the long term, to open these data to supplementary organisations (mutual insurance companies) . Furthermore, the security of this tool is not fully established and its interoperability with our professional software remains precarious, turning us into data entry agents to the detriment of the medical time allocated to patients.
Beyond the technical constraint, it is your data confidentiality that is at stake. By granting increasing access to health data to payers, we fear the end of medical confidentiality. The risk? That complementary bodies (mutuals, insurers) will use these health data tomorrow to adjust your contracts or coverage. Your medical record must remain between you and your carers, not become a tool for insurers.
Rejection of “Low-Cost” Medicine and Slaughtering
We reject a system where the quality of care is sacrificed in the name of profitability. New administrative restrictions (such as penalties related to the DMP) and the freezing of fees would force us to increase the number of procedures at the expense of listening time and examination. . At the Centre Médical des Aravis, we are heavily investing in state-of-the-art technologies (lasers, OCT) for your vision. The 2026 PLFSS puts our ability to maintain this level of technical excellence at risk.
"Doctors are asked today to assume ever more criminal and life-threatening responsibilities, while being stripped, by unilateral administrative decisions, of the means to freely decide on the best therapeutic strategy for their patients. Standardising medical decision-making while individualising liability creates a major risk for patient safety."
They talk about it better than we do.
- 📄 Le Figaro (Tribune Dr Marty): "I am closing my practice because I refuse to become a doctor who mistreats patients" – Read the article
- 👩⚕️ Young Doctors: "Why medical students are on strike" – Understanding the stakes for the future
- 🏥 Caducée.net: "Historic mobilization of all unions" – See the news
- 📄 FNMR Press Release: "The liberal medical system no longer works" – Read the press release
Support your healthcare system
This strike is a last resort. In order for quality healthcare to remain accessible to everyone in Haute-Savoie, we need your understanding.
Your ophthalmologist answers your questions during the consultation. For a sudden symptom or sudden loss of vision, seek advice promptly: see the eye emergencies page.