News

Healthcare cooperation: concrete progress

Framework agreement with Switzerland and Luxembourg
On 20 June 2019, the Senate adopted the bill enabling the framework agreement on cross-border healthcare cooperation with Switzerland and Luxembourg to be approved. This legislation extends to Switzerland and Luxembourg the framework agreement already in place with Belgium, Germany and Spain. It has been keenly awaited, particularly in the Greater Geneva area, which is experiencing medical workforce problems, a shortage of doctors and high turnover of healthcare staff. For Virginie Duby-Muller, MP for Haute-Savoie, "This agreement opens up many possibilities. It will facilitate access for French patients to Swiss hospitals and healthcare professionals, and vice versa. It is a major step forward for healthcare cooperation that will benefit all the inhabitants of border areas." More info [FR]

SaarMoselle: signature of the "Mosar" agreement
On 12 June 2019, sixteen French and German partners signed the "Mosar" agreement, a cross-border healthcare agreement that officialises the cooperation between five hospitals in the Moselle and Saarland: a step that has been awaited for over four years in this territory.
The agreement provides easier access to the nearest and most appropriate medical and technical facilities, in order to ensure patients receive optimum treatment. It covers three areas of healthcare (cardiological emergencies, emergencies involving cases of multiple trauma, and neurosurgical treatment), and is the first step towards the creation of a “cross-border healthcare access area”, which was proposed by the SaarMoselle Eurodistrict in 2015, but which has proved difficult to put in place in all areas of treatment. More info [FR]