The long-awaited decree on the licensing of teleconsultation companies was published in the French Official Journal on 1 March 2024: decree no. 2024-164 of 29 February 2024.
The status for teleconsultation companies was created by the Social Security Financing Law (LFSS) for 2023.
In order to bill procedures to the health insurance system, teleconsultation companies must obtain approval issued by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Security.
This is exactly the purpose of decree no. 2024-164 of 29 February 2024!
The decree specifies the approval procedure for teleconsultation companies, as well as the conditions under which, as part of their activity, teleconsultation procedures performed by the doctors they employ are reimbursed by the health insurance scheme.
In particular, the decree stipulates that teleconsultation companies may not bill patients for services other than teleconsultations, at the conventional rate, for their activities covered by health insurance.
However, it is specified that “teleconsultation companies may offer other optional complementary services for a fee, subject to informing the patient in advance of their optional nature”.
This decree came into force on 1 March 2024.
However, the provision whereby teleconsultation companies “may offer other optional complementary services for a fee, subject to prior information of the patient of their optional nature” has been postponed until 1 September 2024.
