France is not planning to reduce spending on health care or cut patient reimbursements as part of its drive to reign in public expenses, announced the country’s Health Minister Marisol Touraine, reports RFI.
Touraine praised the country’s health protections as one of the best in the world.
"It's not just a philosophy; these are results, which make us one of the countries with the healthiest citizens and residents in the world,” said Touraine speaking on French radio Europe 1. “We must preserve that, even as we look for ways to save and to reorganise.”
France’s health care is one of the most expensive branches of the country’s social security, which also includes pensions, workplace accidents and family benefits.
This announcement comes just days after President Francois Hollande's pledged in his New Year address to clamp down on excesses and abuses in the country's welfare system.
Read more of this report from RFI.