Thermalisme, santé et protection sociale

Hydrotherapy, health and social security

Médecin conseil honoraire C.N.A.M., Chargé d'enseignement d'hydrologie, Université de Bordeaux II

Abstract

Hydrotherapy in France is characterised by considerable medical involvement, the specialisation of spa resorts and an economic context involving a mixture of private funding and grants from local authorities.This is a social form of hydrotherapy with spas attended predominantly by persons benefiting from the different national insurance schemes.

This social spa treatment began in 1945 with the advent of health insurance. Since then, the costs of spa treatment have been covered, under certain medical and administrative conditions, with increasingly advantageous conditions.

Unfortunately, although hydrotherapy is an economic factor for the social organisations and accounts for only 0.3% of health expenditure, it is now under review, like many forms of treatment, in the light of the Social Security deficit.

It was against this background that a Hydrotherapy Project was formulated in 1993 and recently submitted to the Minister of Health: the various proposals made include, in the social sphere, abandonment of the requirement for prior agreement, maintenance - naturally - of the reimbursement of hydrotherapy treatment, and modifications to its duration.