The Couverture maladie universelle (CMU; Universal health care coverage) is a French social welfare programme concerning public health. It was voted through by Lionel Jospin's gauche plurielle government (Law of 27 July 1999), at the initiative of the minister Martine Aubry. The CMU came into force in January 2000. A 2006 investigation by the NGO Médecins du monde showed that 10% of French physicians illegally refused to treat patients covered by the CMU, while 40% refused to treat AME patients.