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News Release
Medical Reform Group of Ontario
Position on Fee Dispute
April 13, 1982
Dear M.R.G. Member,
The Medical Reform Group's position with respect to the structure
and funding of health care, doctors' participation in OHIP, and
the conduct of negotiations between doctors and the government should
be familiar to you through our Statement of Principles and previous
resolutions in these areas. But perhaps members are wondering how
we should apply these principles in the current conflict between
the OMA and the Ministry of Health.
The Steering Committee has met and agreed to the following position,
which we feel is consistent with the principles and resolutions:
1. Although the Ministry's attempted unilateral imposition of a
three year settlement was at best poor labour practice and was undoubtedly
provocative, the government's willingness to negotiate further is
now clear. Physicians should refuse the OMA's call to job action
and resume bargaining, with binding arbitration to be used if no
negotiated settlement can be reached.
2. Physicians currently have a (non-binding) fee agreement with
OHIP. However, physicians' working contracts are made with their
patients individually, and withdrawing from these contracts when
their dispute is with a third party is unreasonable and inappropriate.
3. Physicians are not a union in the industrial sense, nor are
they government employees. They are a self-governing profession,
organized largely as independent small business people, with the
exclusive right by law to provide a service society has deemed so
essential that a public system of comprehensive insurance has been
constructed to ensure that this service is available to everyone.
If physicians wished to reconstitute themselves into a union in
the employ of the government, they would have to forego some freedoms
they now enjoy and assume some new responsibilities in order to
benefit from the rights accorded to unionized workers.
4. Although inequities for some physicians exist within the current
OHIP fee structure, and although doctors (as well as other health
care workers and patients) have some legitimate complaints about
the current structure of our health care system, these cannot be
resolved by the present confrontation. Indeed many of these inequities
are entirely within the power of the profession itself to resolve,
as are many of the other complaints which doctors frequently voice
in justification for their income demands.
All physicians, including M.R.G. members, must act according to
their own consciences during this crisis, but we wanted to inform
you of the M.R.G.'s official position. If you encounter problems
because of your stand on this issue, contact other M.R.G. members
for support or suggestions.
For the Steering Committee,
Debby Copes, M.D.
Copies to media
Subject Headings: Abortion
Rights – Community
Health – Community
Health Centres – Drug
Substitution – Epidemiology
– Epidemiology/Community
Medicine – Health
Administration – Health
Care Budgets – Health
Care Cost Containment – Health
Care Costs – Health
Care Delivery – Health
Care Finance & Fund-Raising – Health
Care in Canada – Health
Care in Ontario – Health
Care in the U.K. – Health
Care in the U.S. – Health
Care Myths – Health
Care Reform – Health
Care Resources – Health
Care Services – Health
Care Workers – Health
Clinics – Health
Determinants – Health
Economics – Health
Expenditures – Health
Issues – Health
Policy – Health
Policy/Seniors – Health
Service Organizations – Health/Social
Justice Issues – Health
Statistics – Health/Strategic
Planning – History
– Hospitals
– Labour
Medicine – Medical
Associations – Medical
Costs/Foreign – Medical
Education – Medical
Ethics – Medical
Human Resources – Medical
Personnel – Medical
Research Funding – Medicare
– Medication
Use – Medication
Use/Seniors – NAFTA/Health
– Occupational
Health & Safety – Patients'
Rights – Pharmaceuticals
– Physician
Compensation – Physician
Human Resources – Pro-Choice
Issues – Public
Health – Publications/Health
– Social
Policy – Women's
Health
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