What Happened
As fuel prices in France hit a staggering record average of 2.41 euros per litre, private healthcare professionals are facing a severe financial crunch. The representative union Convergence infirmière has sounded the alarm, pointing out that the flat-rate travel allowance provided by health insurance has remained completely frozen at 2.75 euros since January 2024.
For nurses who rely on their vehicles as a primary workspace to conduct home visits, the surge in fuel costs (carburants) has turned routine house calls into financial liabilities.
Why It Matters
Under current regulations, nurses cannot always claim supplementary mileage allowances—particularly when their practice and the patient's home are located within the same urban area.
Unions highlight stark examples of the widening gap. An intramuscular injection performed seven kilometers away from a cabinet yields a total billing of 7.25 euros for both the procedure and travel. However, calculated travel costs alone can reach 6.02 euros.
After accounting for transport expenses, a nurse may be left with just 1.23 euro for a 25-minute intervention. This translates to earning less than 3 euros per hour before accounting for social contributions and taxes. Similar deficits apply to essential treatments like blood draws, dressings, and infusions.
Furthermore, standard mileage compensation in rural areas stands at 0.35 euro per kilometer, falling well short of the 0.43 euro cost-of-living baseline recognized by tax authorities. Travel allowances must cover not just petrol, but insurance, maintenance, repairs, and vehicle depreciation.
What's Next
Frustration is boiling over within the sector. The collective of angry private nurses (Cilec) emphasizes that their cars are essential medical tools, not merely commuters. They warn that if soaring transport costs force nurses off the road, vulnerable patients will lose access to at-home care, placing an even heavier burden on already overcrowded hospitals.
Professional organizations are no longer just asking for temporary aid; they are demanding structural reform. Convergence infirmière is pushing for the flat-rate travel allowance to be raised to 4 euros for dependent patients, while Cilec is demanding an increase to 3.50 euros. Both groups are calling for travel indemnities to be automatically indexed to real fuel prices, alongside priority access to fuel supplies during periods of market tension.
