Introducing the SENEF and Progisap Press Review. This monthly press review is a digest of all the latest news from the personal services sector. Discover the October press review.
Artificial intelligence for seniors
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2024 has been awarded to John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton for their advances in artificial intelligence. Particularly in artificial neural networks. At the same time, Silver Valley launched a first version of its AI solutions mapping. These are applied to the demographic transition. Against a backdrop of global aging, this collaborative mapping identifies the main applications of AI. The aim is to help seniors and their caregivers, improving their quality of life.
Solutions identified include systems to identify frailty, prevent dependency and chronic disease, predict risk, optimize the efficiency of professionals, detect incidents and offer personalized solutions. Silver Valley encourages ongoing collaboration to enrich the mapping and organize workshops to explore new uses of AI for seniors.
Social Security Financing Bill (PLFSS)
The federations and organizations of the elderly care sector are expressing their deep concern about the Social Security Financing Bill (PLFSS) for 2025. They consider the funding to be insufficient for a sector in serious economic difficulty. Despite the approach of a major demographic shock, the lack of substantial investment in the elderly is threatening the viability of care and support structures. As a result, the presidential promise of a multi-year law on ageing has failed to materialize, leaving the sector without sustainable solutions.
In addition, there is an acute shortage of personnel. To cope with the increase in the number of elderly people, it would be necessary to recruit around 400,000 employees by 2030. The PLFSS, however, provides for the creation of only 6,500 new positions. The working conditions and training of professionals are also deemed insufficiently taken into account.
The PLFSS 2025 includes an increase in the ONDAM for the elderly (+1.6 billion euros). But budget cuts and increases in charges threaten the sector's financial stability. The federations are calling on the public authorities to review the arrangements to ensure adequate funding, which is essential to meet the demographic challenge ahead.
The CNSA disagrees with the PLFSS
Against a tense economic backdrop, the CNSA has overwhelmingly rejected the Social Security Financing Bill for 2025. It considers it insufficient to meet the needs of the autonomy sector.
Despite a 6 % increase in the budget of the Autonomie branch to finance, among other things, 50,000 new support solutions for disabled people. The Council feels that these measures are ill-suited to the current crisis in the medical-social establishment sector.
It calls for greater support for these structures, a reform of the EHPAD and homecare services model, and greater territorial equity. The Council also calls for a multi-year programming law to better support the autonomy of elderly and disabled people.
Increase in the minimum wage
A decree published on October 24 sets a 2 % increase in the SMIC from November 1, 2024.
- In mainland France and several overseas territories (Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Reunion, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin and Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon), the gross hourly SMIC is €11.88, or €1,801.80 per month for a 35-hour working week.
- In Mayotte, the gross hourly SMIC is €8.98, or €1,361.97 per month for a 35-hour week.
This increase is the result of an annual formula based on inflation forecasts and wage trends. The guaranteed minimum has also been increased to €4.22 on November 1, 2024.
Home help, Ehpad... what the law on ageing well and autonomy contains
After almost a year of debate, the French Parliament has adopted the draft law on old age and autonomy. Initially deemed inadequate by many deputies when it was examined by the National Assembly in April 2023, it was enriched by several measures, including the creation of a territorial public service for autonomy.
The Joint Committee, comprising members of both chambers, reached a compromise on the points of disagreement.
Here are the main measures contained in the adopted text:
- Creation of a departmental autonomy service to centralize information and support for people losing their autonomy.
- Fighting elder abuse by setting up a departmental alert unit.
- Authorization for mayors to consult registers of recipients of certain benefits to detect isolated persons.
- Authorization for Ehpad residents to bring in their pets, subject to consultation with the health authorities.
- Increased support for homecare services, including a budget for professional mobility and the creation of a professional card.
- Experimentation with lump-sum payments for home help services.
- Grandchildren no longer have to pay alimony to grandparents living in a nursing home.
- Reinforcement of controls in Ehpad, with automatic non-renewal of authorizations in the event of unsatisfactory external evaluations.
- Creation of a home autonomy service combining nursing care and home assistance, with a period of adaptation until 2030.
- Modulation of Ehpad rates according to resources and type of place, subject to certain limitations.
In addition, there are plans to launch a debate on a programming law for the elderly, to define the means of financing and the reforms to be undertaken, although the government has not yet guaranteed that this debate will take place.
To discover the press review of September , this is where it all happens.
