|
News Release
Cap on high billers
is a step in the right direction
May 24, 1991
The agreement between the Ontario Medical Association (OMA) and
the provincial government reflects an encouraging trend toward co-operation
between the medical profession and the Ministry of Health.
The Medical Reform Group of Ontario, an organization of socially-concerned
physicians and medical students, supports the positive features
contained in this agreement as a step in the right direction. These
include:
The adoption of binding arbitration as a means to settle fee disputes.
The particularly important fact that the medical profession is
agreeing to share responsibility for increases in physician charges.
Also important is the restriction of outrageous physician charges
to the provincial health care plan. Physicians who selfishly and
nearsightedly oppose the pact because of restrictions on incomes
over $400,000 threaten the cooperation between government and the
medical profession.
Despite its positive features, the present agreement has limitations.
The Medical Reform Group believes that the following concerns should
be addressed:
Under the terms of the agreement, all physicians will be penalized
if collective billings exceed a certain level. This means that responsible
hard-working physicians will suffer the same penalties as those
who practise "revolving-door medicine". The Medical Reform
Group believes that the agreement on fees should be structured to
discourage production-line medicine and that penalties should fall
on those who exceed the ceilings.
Action is urgently needed to deal with the continuing problem of
various kinds of extra charges to patients. The Medical Reform Group
believes that physicians should be prohibited from charging any
fees to patients for services which flow directly from insured services.
Action is needed to research and remedy the widespread use of such
charges.
Measures to control health care costs must go hand in hand with
appropriate resource allocation. Future agreements should include
provisions for increased quality assurance and for improving the
efficiency of the health care system.
Members of the Medical Reform Group will be present outside Maple
Leaf Gardens at 8:40 a.m. to answer questions from the media.
For more information, contact:
Dr. Philip Berger
Dr. Haresh Kirpalani (Hamilton)
Dr. Mimi Divinsky:
Medical Reform Group office: (Ulli
Diemer, Administrator)
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
Click
here to view our Sources Listing
Main
News Release page - The
Sources Calendar -
Search Sources Listings
-
Parliamentary Names & Numbers
How
to Post Your Press Releases
Sources
home page
Search the Sources directory to find
experts and spokespersons
|