Does aid to doctors really reduce medical deserts?

→ In France, to encourage doctors to practice in so-called under-dense areas (1), the State, Health Insurance and local authorities offer various assistance for installation and maintenance.

Fifteen measures exist. They represented 205 million euros in 2023, benefiting 15,000 doctors (especially general practitioners) and 2,000 students (2).

→ According to the Drees (3), financial incentives, The first measures put in place to correct geographical imbalances gave disappointing results. They do not seem to be decisive in a doctor’s decision to set up, when other factors count more, such as the possibility of collective practice or the quality of the care network…

→ However, the Court of Auditors emphasizes that certain aid remains effective (4). For example, those allocated by Health Insurance. Their effects should be further improved from January 1: the aid allocated will be simplified and an “advanced consultation” system, intended to encourage doctors outside the medical desert to intervene occasionally, is created.

→ In terms of state aid, scholarships for students, when limited in time, prove attractive. Just like the tax exemption on income received for ongoing care (night and weekend shifts). Other support: aid from local authorities, very diverse depending on the territory, both financial and linked to quality of life (spouse’s employment assistance, rent exemption, etc.).

→ The main obstacle to the effectiveness of public aid therefore lies more in their “entanglement”, as the Court of Auditors points out, only in their costs. And their benefit remains too concentrated on a limited number of doctors: “3,000 (out of 15,000 beneficiaries) received 60% of Health Insurance and tax aid,” notes the public control body.

1) A medical desert (or “under-dense zone”) is defined by a minimum threshold of 2.5 consultations accessible less than twenty minutes from home per year and per inhabitant.

2) France has 241,255 doctors. Sources: Court of Auditors, November 12, 2025; Atlas of medical demography, 2025.

3) Directorate of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics of the Ministry of Health.

4) Report dated November 12, 2025.