The regional health agencies are public administrative establishments run by the State. They are placed under the supervision of the ministers responsible for health, health insurance, the elderly and the disabled.
The regional health agencies have a board of directors and are headed by a director general.
Each regional health agency has the following bodies:
1° A regional conference on health and autonomy, responsible for participating through its opinions in defining the objectives and actions of the agency in its areas of competence;
2° Three commissions for the coordination of public health policies, involving State services, local authorities and their groupings and social security bodies. These commissions are responsible for coordinating the actions determined and carried out by their members, respectively:
-in the fields of prevention and health promotion, school health, occupational health and maternal and child protection ;
-in the field of medico-social care and support;
-in the field of regional healthcare organisation. The members of this commission are not remunerated and no costs relating to the operation of this commission may be borne by a public entity.
3° A departmental one-stop shop to help healthcare professionals set up in the region, with the involvement of the territorially competent bodies of the professional associations concerned.
The Director General of the Regional Health Agency may decide to merge the three commissions mentioned in 2° or two of these commissions, subject to the approval of a qualified majority of their members. The composition and operating procedures of these commissions are specified by decree.
The regional health agency shall ensure that the fight against social and territorial inequalities in health is taken into account within these commissions, which shall report on specific actions to combat these inequalities, particularly with regard to people in vulnerable or socially precarious situations, as part of the programme mentioned in 3° of article L. 1434-2 of this code.
The regional health agencies set up departmental delegations. Their missions are determined by decree, after consultation with associations representing local elected representatives. Each year, the departmental director presents the president of the departmental council with a report on the agency’s activities in the department.