Cancer: Does the radiotherapy sector really make "huge margins"?

As the government seeks to reduce health insurance spending in the 2026 budget, the CFTC (French Trade Union Confederation of Trade Unions) is pointing the finger at radiotherapy. The union denounces "huge margins."

Doubling the ceiling on medical deductibles, greater control over sick leave... In order to reduce healthcare spending by five billion euros next year, the government has announced a series of cost-cutting measures . "We must make the French people responsible," declared François Bayrou on July 15.

According to the CFTC, there are other avenues to explore to reduce the health insurance bill, such as the cost of medical transport but also radiotherapy which, "with enormous margins, is a real issue."

Are radiotherapy centers and practices making huge profits at the expense of patients and, therefore, the taxpayer? This is indeed what the latest annual report "Expenses and Income 2026" from the French Health Insurance demonstrates. Radiotherapy, one of the main cancer treatments, is one of the seven healthcare sectors "whose level of profitability is questionable," the authors write.

Anatomopathology (the morphological study of abnormalities), biology, hearing aids, dialysis, nuclear medicine, and radiology are also being singled out. Lowering the rates for these medical procedures, concludes the Health Insurance, "is one of the levers that can be used to distribute costs more fairly."

According to the French National Health Insurance Agency, the profitability rate of radiotherapy facilities reaches 21% on average. For comparison, in France, the average profitability of companies in 2022 was, according to the INSEE , around 7%. According to the Court of Auditors , a self-employed radiotherapy oncologist earns an average of 35,000 euros net per month. Three years ago, the Court was already concerned about the rise in radiotherapy costs. An increase that is "more than proportional" to the increase in the number of patients.

How can we explain why radiotherapy is so profitable for the companies that practice it? Health insurance companies and the Court of Auditors have made the same analysis: the problem stems from pricing rules, which, in both the private and public sectors, are very advantageous for institutions. In 2022, the Court of Auditors estimated that radiotherapy prices were on average 75% higher than the actual cost of the procedures.

There is also the highly profitable practice of supplementary charges in private practices. For example, to ensure that the patient is properly positioned on the table before an irradiation session, the radiotherapist will perform multiple medical imaging scans. This allows him, the Court's report concludes, "to double or even triple the bill."