This whole affair is enough to make your head spin so let’s take a giant step back and try to understand what’s going on.
For a while people were complaining that doctors were charging unfair fees. The famous story of the very expensive eye drops or colonoscopy were some examples. Rather than banish the practice completely, the Health Minister thought he could have his cake and eat it too. He’d regulate accessory fees. In that way work could still be done outside of the public health care sector (which couldn’t absorb the colonoscopies, ultrasounds, etc etc anyway) and he wouldn’t have to invest more money to take up the slack.
Unfortunately for him a new Federal Health Minister didn’t like this plan and threatened to cut back the money that she was in charge of that helped the cash strapped Quebec health care system. The Provincial Minister had to abandon his plan. Instead he chose a date and said no more accessory fees whatever after it.
The response was for the docs doing these procedures and tests to say: “we aren’t obligated to do them and you aren’t going to pay us, so we won’t!”
In most cases the colonoscopies and ultrasounds and vaccinations being done for a fee in a pediatrician’s office aren’t competing with our health system but adding additional help that it desperately needed but couldn’t afford.
The present situation was entirely predictable and avoidable! What should have happened was a well thought out plan to replace the needed services within the present reimbursement system. For example, doctors currently have to stop doing colonoscopies in the hospital when the regular day ends at 4 or 5 pm. You could have extended the office hours by paying for the staff and supplies needed. The hospital would continue to do colonoscopies until the wee hours of the morning and patients wouldn’t have to pay out of pocket. If you do it gradually you can avoid the shock to the system and still achieve your goals. But that unfortunately isn’t what happened and now everyone will suffer. How unnecessary and cruel to everyone involved!