Access to health care for low-income populations in France: micro-econometric studies of complementary health care and health care utilization behaviors.

Summary The purpose of this research is to study the financial access to complementary health care and to health care for low-income populations in France. We are particularly interested in the Aide complémentaire santé (ACS) scheme, which was introduced to encourage households whose resources are just above the ceiling of the Couverture maladie universelle (CMUC) to acquire complementary health insurance. Based on a social experiment and a new sample of households eligible for these schemes, we are able to shed light on three questions: (i) Understanding and reducing non-use of the ACS. (ii) Behaviour in the use of complementary health insurance and care. (iii) The existence of a threshold effect of the CMUC. The results of this thesis will be used to improve the effectiveness of these schemes and, more generally, of future public policies aimed at improving equity in access to care.