You must not be discriminated against when receiving healthcare. The prohibition of discrimination applies equally to state and municipal, as well as private medical institutions and service providers.
Healthcare and medical services may be provided by state or municipal health care institutions, family doctors or private medical practices. All healthcare service providers are under a duty not to discriminate against you because of who you are. This applies to professional medical staff (doctors or nurses), as well as administrative staff (receptionists), ambulance drivers, clinic managers and other personnel employed in healthcare.
Discrimination in healthcare may include the refusal to accept you as a patient, harassing you by using abusive, derogatory language or providing lower quality medical care services.
example If all younger patients receive priority treatment for no apparent reason, while older patients are required to wait in queue for a much longer period, it may violate the prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of age.
Discrimination in healthcare can also happen against the medical staff, for example when a patient refuses to be treated by a doctor because of their skin colour. Although the patient has a right to free choice of practitioner, this right does not cover a discriminatory choice.
French law explicitly prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sex or gender, race or ethnic origin, religion or belief, age, disability and other grounds in healthcare. For example, it prohibits healthcare professionals from refusing to treat a person, including refusing to provide emergency contraception, on one of the prohibited grounds.
Is considered a breach of the prohibition of discrimination any practice aimed at preventing or dissuading a person from accessing preventives measures or healthcare on one of the prohibited grounds. This would be the case for example if a measure puts obstacles in the way of effective access to a healthcare professional, or in the way of benefiting from financial coverage of healthcare expenditures.
Prohibition of discrimination in healthcare also applies to how doctors treat their patients. Indeed, French law states that doctors must examine and treat all persons in the same manner, regardless of their origin, morals, family situation, ethnicity, nation, religion, disability, reputation, or any feelings they may have towards them etc.
In France, it is not necessary to be French to receive free healthcare. There is no condition of nationality, but instead a condition of regular residence in France. Indeed, the law states that any person working or residing in France on a stable and regular basis is entitled, in the event of sickness or maternity, to reimbursement of healthcare costs. However, foreigners who reside in France illegally can still benefit from access to healthcare through the State medical aid scheme (“aide médicale de l’Etat”), which is granted subject to residence and income conditions.
What human rights violation may there be?
The prohibition of discrimination
The prohibition of discrimination may have been violated if you have been denied medical care or you have received medical services of poor quality only because you are of a certain race, age, nationality or possess other characteristics that are prohibited grounds of discrimination.
Right to health and prohibition of inhuman and degrading treatment
If you are unable to access medical care or receive poor quality medical services, it may lead to a violation of your right to health. In the most serious cases, it may lead to a violation of the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment or even torture.
Right to life
If a person died because he/she did receive the necessary medical care or inadequate medical care was provided, it may have been a violation of their right to life.
How to complain
If you believe that you may have been discriminated against by a private healthcare service provider, you may file a complaint to the director of the local healthcare insurance body or to the president of the relevant professional council.
If you believe that you have been discriminated against by a public healthcare service provider, you may also submit a complaint to the same institutions as explained above.
Read more about how to complain.