Doctors Stage Massive Protest Rally In Paris

Angry French doctors and health workers staged a massive protest march in Paris on Sunday, to amend a controversial health bill that goes before a parliamentary committee from Tuesday.

The proposed draft legislation notably provides for doctors to be paid in full by the state-run social security system by 2017, rather than the current system under which patients pay their doctors and are then refunded by the system. The medical fraternity fears that the proposed change will hugely add to their paper-work, cause payment delays and open the door to administrative meddling in medical affairs.

Doctors, interns, nurses and dentists have been protesting for weeks, with some even staging a 2-week stoppage before Christmas. The organizers of the protest rally claimed that more than 40,000 people took part in the rally, but the police put the number at 19,000.

Source: Medindia