Taxi strike: what are the reasons for the anger ?

Taxi unions have called for a national mobilization this Monday March 4 to oppose à the convention which binds them à Health Insurance and decides on prices and reimbursements for medical transport.

Taxis are mobilizing all over France this Monday March 4 for their fifth action in the space of three months. Taxi drivers are taking to the roads again to oppose the the agreement that binds them to the national health insurance fund (Cnam), in particular Article 30 of the Security Financing Act social 2024 which concerns medical transport. This mobilization could be one of the most important and for good reason, “this time the initiative for the demonstrations does not come from the unions, but from the base" indicated&eac; the president of the National Taxi Federation (FNDT), Emmanuelle Cordier, at Parisien.

Ile-de-France and Paris should be particularly affected by the mobilization of taxis. "There will be at least 2 000 taxis [in the capital]. And who will all go through the peripheral, from 8 hours" warned the unionist a few days before the mobilization. Processions planned to depart from the Ile-de-France departments, but also from the entire French territory must "converge towards Paris" and the Place du Trocadéro at the end of the morning. Mobilizations are also organized in other French cities such as Lyon, Toulouse, Bordeaux or Nîmes with blockades on highways, major roads or again the tolls.

Insufficient fares for taxis

The new agreement provides for an increase of 3.5% in the price of medical shopping when caring for a patient. The figure stoppedé was é decided unilaterally by the Cnam in the absence of agreement with the unions and taxi federations. But it does not allow us to compensate for inflation according to Emmanuelle Cordier, interviewed by franceinfo : "Bercy estimates that our expenses have increased  by 5.4% in one year. "With all the games of discounts, in the end, çit comes down à zero the increase they are offering us" she added. Taxi drivers believe that the rate charged is too high. is not sufficient in relation to the costs which have increased, but according to them it does not take into account the time involved either. and the necessary support   patient care.

Reimbursement of medical transportation in question

Reimbursement of medical transportation, conditional upon payment by the agreement with Health Insurance, is also one of the main demands. Article 30 of the Social Security financing law ; Social 2024 provides financial incentives for patients transported by taxis or other medical transport. share the journey with another patient when “his/her condition is not incompatible with such a transport solution and the proposal meets the requirements of the patient”. conditions for the implementation of transport" regarding the journey or pick-up at the point of care. And patients who refuse to share medical transportation cannot claim the same reimbursement.

According to the convention, a patient who refuses to share medical transport must "proceed to é advance the costs then send a paper care sheet to your contact person. their home fund to obtain reimbursement for their journey. But above all, Health Insurance can settle for a reimbursement based on the cost of shared transport. and not individual transport, which is more expensive. The difference is left to chance. the patient's burden.

The measure has an impact on the pricing of medical transport explains the president of the FNDT who points out and denounces "a reduction of 30 % on the reimbursement rates for medical transport by taxi. "This means that we will return to the rates that were in effect in… 2014! This is not possible. Taxis, which are already suffering competition from VTC, did not need ça. They are &agrav; but" she added in Le Parisien. This new pricing, considered "unsustainable" by profession, “could force taxi companies & refuse support to protect the economic balance of their VSEs. The unions are therefore demanding a renegotiation of the remuneration conditions for medical transport.