PARIS (MNI) – France’s chronic deficit in the social security
sphere will be cut to E14 billion next year, a drop of 40% from the peak
in 2010, Budget Minister Valerie Pecresse said Thursday.
“For the health care sector, the deficit will be less than E6
billion, whereas we were at E12 billion in 2010,” the minister said in a
television interview.
Revenues will be boosted through the government’s strategy of
reducing tax write-offs and fiscal incentives, she explained.
On the spending side, savings of more than E600 million are
expected by reducing the prices of medication and by a “good-practice”
code for doctors, with bonuses for those who prescribe fewer and cheaper
drugs, Pecresse explained.
In addition, by gradually pushing back the age of retirement,
outlays of the public pension system will be contained, she said.
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