At odds with Quebec over the upcoming ban on medical fees, some specialist groups are cancelling appointments.
As of Jan. 26, doctors will no longer be permitted to bill their patients for fees, opening a medical file, or charging for items like eye drops; they will be required to cover those costs out of their budgets.
“My colleagues are expected to administer a service that is not covered by any code in the (health ministry),” said Veronique Benhamou, president of the Federation of Dental Specialists.
Dentists who work with disabled or autistic children, for example, must often administer sedatives. Patients will no longer pay the $80 fee, but it also won't be covered by the RAMQ.
“You have a choice. Either you give the appointment or you don’t get paid – or you don’t give the appointment,” said Benhamou.
Radiologists in private clinics have started cancelling appointments and delaying existing ones.
Diagnostic scans are now covered by the RAMQ. Quebec is offering about $70 per ultrasound, but the Radiologists’ Association is asking for $100.
Health Minister Gaetan Barrette has flat-out called the specialists ‘greedy.’
“You refuse or reject an offer that covers your operating costs and a small profit, you want more. What do you call that?” he said.
The specialists are holding their ground. Benhamou said it may lead to referring patients to hospital, where the waiting list is months rather than weeks.
“The delivery of care will be so much heavier, and in the end be more expensive because it’s not cheap at the hospital either,” she said.
Barrettesaid Wednesday's meeting with the radiologists was a positive one and that an agreement might be reached as early as the next couple of days.
