Reimbursement of physical activity on prescription for cancer patients takes a significant step. A two-year experiment is starting in three regions for cancer patients, under the auspices of regional health agencies.
The reimbursement of physical activity on prescription for cancer patients, as part of a two-year experiment, will finally be able to take effect with the publication on Thursday, April 16 of a decree on this measure provided for in the 2024 social security budget.
This decree, dated April 14 and published in the Official Journal on Thursday, specifies the modalities of application of the experiment for taking charge of adapted physical activity sessions in a comprehensive care pathway for patients receiving or having received treatment for cancer.
This experiment will be deployed in Brittany, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, under the leadership of regional health agencies (ARS).
A more comprehensive and permanent system was initially envisaged as part of the Social Security financing bill for 2024, including also people with diabetes.
But the government withdrew it during parliamentary deliberations, invoking Article 49.3 which allows the executive to choose amendments at will.
This withdrawal was criticized by patient and caregiver associations and organizations. They considered the measure “sacrificed” for budgetary reasons despite Emmanuel Macron’s announcements, who had made physical activity a “national priority” for 2024, the year of the Olympic Games in Paris.
Adapted physical activity is rarely prescribed
Cancers, lung diseases, diabetes: many scientific studies have proven for years the benefits of adapted physical activity alongside treatments.
Allowed by a 2016 law, sessions of adapted physical activity are now covered by some mutual insurance companies or as part of experiments but not widely by health insurance.
By 2026, a coordinated care and therapeutic education pathway with adapted physical activity is also expected to be implemented for certain adults with complex obesity or associated with certain complications.
According to several studies, including one conducted in 2021 by the National Cancer Institute, doctors prescribe little adapted physical activity due to lack of training but also “lack of visibility and funding.”
