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News Release
Ontario Medical Association's
"Social Contract Days"
Penalize Patients
April 5, 1995
The Ontario Medical Association is asking its members to withdraw
all but essential health services for three days in April, and for
one day in each subsequent month. The Medical Reform Group, an alternative
voice of Ontario physicians, believes the OMA is acting irresponsibly
in encouraging its members to withdraw services.
The OMA and the Ontario government negotiated a "ceiling"
on government payments to physicians. For the 1994-95 fiscal year,
this ceiling was approximately $3.9 billion, and for 1995-96 it
will be $3.8 billion. Both the government and the OMA acted appropriately
in setting the ceiling. Given the reductions in income, and job
losses for every other group in the health care sector, it is necessary
that physicians bear their share of the burden.
Physicians' billings have consistently exceeded the ceiling on
which the government and the OMA agreed. As a result, the government
has instituted "holdbacks" and "clawbacks" (in
which a proportion of physician billings have not been paid) to
keep physician payments from exceeding the ceiling. The OMA's decision
to withdraw services is a response to the government's measure to
enforce the ceiling on physicians' payments.
The MRG believes that physicians should not respond to the payment
ceiling by reducing needed services, and thus penalizing patients.
Since physicians remain by far the best-paid group of workers in
the health care sector, it would be reasonable for them to absorb
an effective decrease in their fee-for-service payments.
Even more desirable would be implementation of a plan to reduce
billings by more efficient delivery of health care services.
As well as unnecessarily penalizing patients, the OMA's chosen
strategy will reduce physicians' credibility, and the public's trust.
The profession can ill afford this loss of trust if it wishes to
play an important role in the fight to maintain universal, high-quality
health care for the citizens of Ontario. The MRG calls on physicians
to not participate in withdrawal of services, and to lobby their
professional organization to look for innovative ways of reducing
expenditures by increasing efficiency of health care delivery.
Contact: Ulli
Diemer, Medical Reform Group 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
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